A Tribute to Van Gogh’s Postman
In a letter to his brother Theo from 1888, Vincent van Gogh referred to the postman Joseph-Étienne Roulin, who had become his friend, with great admiration:
“Now I work with another model, a postman in a blue uniform with gold decorations, a large, bearded face, very socially.”
Van Gogh painted more portraits of the postman Roulin than of any other person, apart from himself.
About Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was a Dutch post-Impressionist painter and one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western Art. Over his lifetime, he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life.
Despite his immense talent, Van Gogh was not commercially successful during his lifetime. His tragic suicide at the age of 37 followed years of mental illness and poverty.
The Postman Joseph-Étienne Roulin
In another letter dated 1888 to his brother Theo, Van Gogh described the postman Joseph-Étienne Roulin:
“Now I’m working with another model, a postman in a blue uniform with gold trimmings, a big, bearded face, very Socratic. (…) A more interesting man than many people.”
This friendship inspired Van Gogh to create multiple portraits of Roulin, making him one of the artist’s most frequent subjects.
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