La Berceuse (1889)

Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)

La Berceuse (Lullaby or Madame Roulin Rocking the Cradle)
1889
Oil on canvas, 92.7 × 73.8 cm
Art Institute of ChicagoChicago
(F 506, JH 1670)

Vincent van Gogh saw in Augustine Roulin—along with her husband, Joseph, and their children—a model of love and family life. In this portrait, Roulin rocks a cradle by pulling on a rope. The title La Berceuse (the lullaby) suggests a consoling figure, and the artist described his palette as a soothing “lullaby in colors.”

Van Gogh painted five versions of this image. He completed this one in January 1889, soon after returning from his stay in the hospital following Paul Gauguin’s fraught departure. Madame Roulin sits in Gauguin’s chair, an attempt by Van Gogh to fill the space left by the older artist. In May 1889, Van Gogh gave this canvas to Gauguin as a gesture of reconciliation and friendship, instructing that it be hung between two paintings of sunflowers. (AIC)

Compare:

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

 

 

Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)
La Berceuse
1889
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

 

 

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)