The Roulin Family
Match for you
Rate 5 more paintings to see how well this one matches your taste.
Where to see it
Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston
About the painting
The Roulin Family is a group of portrait paintings Vincent van Gogh executed in Arles in 1888 and 1889 of Joseph, his wife Augustine and their three children: Armand, Camille, and Marcelle. This series is unique in many ways. Although Van Gogh loved to paint portraits, it was difficult for financial and other reasons for him to find models. So, finding an entire family that agreed to sit for paintings — in fact, for several sittings each — was a bounty.
Read more
Joseph Roulin became a friend to Van Gogh during his stay in Arles. Representing a man he admired was important to him. The family, with children ranging in age from four months to seventeen years, also gave him the opportunity to produce works of individuals in several different stages of life.
Rather than pursuing realism, Van Gogh used his imagination, colours, and themes artistically and creatively to evoke desired emotions from the audience.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Similar works
Image: Vincent van Gogh; Wikimedia Commons · public domain