La Berceuse (1889)

Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)

La Berceuse (Lullaby or Madame Roulin Rocking the Cradle)
1889
Oil on canvas, 92.7 x 73.7 cm
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York
(F 505, JH 1669)

Of the five versions of Van Gogh’s portrait of Augustine Roulin, wife of his friend the postmaster of Arles, the present canvas is the one the sitter chose for herself. Van Gogh remarked that “she had a good eye and took the best.” He began the portraits just before his breakdown in Arles, in December 1888, and completed them in early 1889, calling them “La Berceuse,” meaning “lullaby, or woman who rocks the cradle,” indicated by the rope held in the sitter’s hand, which is attached to the unseen cradle. (MET)

Compare:

Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)
La Berceuse
18881889
Kröller-Müller MuseumOtterlo

 

 

Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)
La Berceuse
1889
Art Institute of ChicagoChicago

 

 

Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)
La Berceuse
1889
Stedelijk MuseumAmsterdam

 

 

Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)
La Berceuse
1889
Museum of Fine ArtsBoston

 

 

See also:

• Roulin, Augustine (1851-1930)