Madame Roulin, Paul Gauguin (1888)
Paul Gauguin produced this portrait during a tempestuous two months spent in the company of Vincent van Gogh at Arles in the south of France. This female model was the local postman’s wife, and Gauguin focused on her ruddy complexion and reddish-brown hair. He also painted areas of flat, abstracted color, such as the shadow and the wall behind the chair. The woman’s form is strongly outlined in Prussian blue while a schematic version of one of the artist’s own pictures, Blue Trees, is visible on the wall behind.
