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 Art, New 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
1888–1889
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)
La Berceuse
1889
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)
La Berceuse
1889
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)
La Berceuse
1889
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
See also:
• Arles (France) | Roulin, Augustine (1851-1930)