Portrait Of Père Tanguy
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Portrait of Père Tanguy'', painted by
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
in 1887, is one of his three paintings of Julien Tanguy. The three works demonstrate a progression in van Gogh's artistic style after his arrival in Paris. The first is somber, and formed from a simple composition. The second introduces van Gogh's Japanese prints. The last and most advanced in style, skill and color integrates
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
, and other influences on the Parisian artist community. This painting conveys a sense of serenity that van Gogh seeks for himself. This last painting of Tanguy is in the
Musée Rodin The Musée Rodin () of Paris, France, is an art museum that was opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris, as well as just ...
, Paris.


Van Gogh in Paris

In 1886 van Gogh left the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
never to return. He moved to Paris to live with his brother Theo, a Parisian art dealer. Vincent entered Paris as a shy, somber man. While his personality would never change, he emerged artistically into what one critic described as a "singing bird". Although van Gogh had been influenced by great masters in the Netherlands, coming to Paris meant that he was exposed to Impressionists, Symbolists, Pointillists, and Japanese art (''see
Japonisme ''Japonisme'' is a French term that refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among a number of Western European artists in the nineteenth century following the Bakumatsu, forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1 ...
''). His circle of friends included
Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( ; ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). ...
,
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec Count, ''Comte'' Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator whose immersion in the colour ...
,
Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...
, Émile Bernard,
Paul Signac Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, with Georges Seurat, helped develop the artistic technique Pointillism. Biography Paul-Victor-Jules Signac was born in Paris on ...
, and others. The works of the Japanese
ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...
artists
Hiroshige or , born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition. Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format landscape series '' The Fifty-three Stations ...
and
Hokusai , known mononymously as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. His woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'' includes the iconic print ''The Gr ...
greatly influenced van Gogh, both for the subject matter and the style of flat patterns of colors without shadow. In the two years from 1886 through 1888 he spent working in Paris, van Gogh explored the various genres, creating his own unique style.


The painting

The brightly colored painting and confident subject represent a shift in Vincent's attitude. Van Gogh called his use of bright colors "gymnastics" that through experimentation created great depth, harmony and balance in his work. The painting contains a background of van Gogh's Japanese prints that were sold at Tanguy's shop. On top of Tanguy's hat is
Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...
;
Kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...
actors share the wall with cherry trees in bloom. The Japanese paintings represent van Gogh's search for serenity, which he describes in a letter to his sister during this period, "Having as much of this serenity as possible, even though one knows little – nothing – for certain, is perhaps a better remedy for all diseases than all the things that are sold at the chemist's shop." In an effort to capture serenity in his painting, Van Gogh paints Tanguy with a calm, contemplative nature. Historian of Symbolism Naomi Maurer describes him as having the "iconic tranquility of Buddha." Van Gogh died in 1890 and Tanguy four years after. Following Tanguy's death, his daughter sold the ''Portrait of Père Tanguy'' to sculptor
Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...
. The ''Portrait of Père Tanguy,'' previously in Rodin's personal collection, is in the permanent collection at
Musée Rodin The Musée Rodin () of Paris, France, is an art museum that was opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris, as well as just ...
in Paris.


Julien Tanguy

Julien François Tanguy (1825
Plédran Plédran (; ; Gallo: ''Plédran'') is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Plédran are called ''plédranais'' in French. Twin towns Plédran is twinned with: * Bembri ...
- 1894 Paris) was a paint grinder who sold art supplies and was also an art dealer, one of the first to offer van Gogh's paintings for sale. His jovial demeanor and enthusiasm for artistry and artists made his shop one of the most favored art supply shops in Paris, and he was nicknamed ''Père'' ("Father") Tanguy. Maurer calls Tanguy a father figure who shared his food and money with artists and showed their paintings with pride. Tanguy took paintings as payment for paints, which Émile Bernard said made entering his shop in
Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...
, full of Impressionist paintings, like "visiting a museum". In comparison to her husband, Tanguy's wife was less cooperative and more concerned with clientele paying outstanding charges. When Tanguy died, his friends staged an auction for his widow.
Octave Mirbeau Octave Henri Marie Mirbeau (; 16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still app ...
wrote a notice about him in '' L'Écho de Paris'' on 13 February 1894.


Three ''Portraits of Julien Tanguy''

Van Gogh painted three portraits of Julien (Père) Tanguy. In winter 1886/87 van Gogh painted his first portrait of Tanguy. It is mostly brown, with a touch of red on his lips and a green on his apron. Writer Victoria Finlay describes him as looking more like a workman than an art dealer. In 1887, van Gogh began to experiment with brighter colors, such as red against green and orange against blue. The other two paintings show him sitting in front of a colorful wall of Japanese prints. The second to the right was painted by van Gogh in one thirty-minute sitting, and Tanguy kept the original version of the painting. Actor Edward G. Robinson and his wife Gladys Lloyd Robinson, a painter, owned the painting, which they sold to Greek shipping tycoon
Stavros Niarchos Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (, ; 3 July 1909 – 15 April 1996) was a Greek billionaire shipping tycoon. Starting in 1952, he had the world's biggest supertankers built for his fleet. Propelled by both the Suez Crisis and increasing demand for oil, ...
. The second, more advanced painting with Japanese prints is held in the
Musée Rodin The Musée Rodin () of Paris, France, is an art museum that was opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris, as well as just ...
in Paris.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait Of Pere Tanguy Paintings by Vincent van Gogh Paintings of Paris by Vincent van Gogh 1887 paintings Tanguy Japonisme Paintings in the Musée Rodin Tanguy Tanguy Paintings of Montmartre Oil on canvas paintings