Postman Joseph Roulin  1888

by Vincent van Gogh

One of van Gogh’s closest friends and favorite sitters in Arles was the local postman, Joseph Roulin. While painting this work, van Gogh wrote to his brother, “I am now at work with another model, a postman in blue uniform, trimmed with gold, a big bearded face, very like Socrates.” Indeed, the modest postman has all the authority of an admiral. Van Gogh also painted sever...
Size: 
81.3 x 65.4 cm
Medium: 
Oil on canvas
Credit: 
Public Domain, Courtesy of the MFA Boston