Portrait of Pere Tanguy Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

Description of Vincent van Gogh’s Portrait of Papa Tanguy

Van Gogh Portrait of Papa Tanguy Van Gogh painted this painting in 1887-1888. Julien François Tanguy owned a store that sold items for painters. His customers were not only famous Impressionists, but also post-Impressionists. Tanguy participated in the Paris Commune. Then he was exiled. This man’s soul is incredibly broad.

His shop sold all the brushes and paints needed for artists. Tanguy was nicknamed Papa for his kindness. Very often artists did not have the money to buy everything they needed to paint. He would agree to accept painted creations and give paints and canvas in return. Tanguy even had his own art gallery, though very small.

Sometimes some of the paintings were sold. It was Tanguy who first exhibited Van Gogh’s work. But during his lifetime, none of Van Gogh’s works that were in his possession were sold. The painter created three portraits of Tanguy. It was the last portrait that was the most successful. In it he is maximally idealized. The symbolic meaning is hidden in the image of his father Tanguy. We see him in a very characteristic Buddha pose. His gaze is full of determination and his face is mathematically symmetrical. The wall, which has a complex structure, is in contrast to the figure.

What we have before us are genuine Japanese engravings. They deserved the attention of many of Van Gogh’s contemporaries. It seems that the entire composition is flattened on purpose. And Tanguy seems to be pushed forward. The veins protrude strongly on Tanguy’s hands. They contrast very strongly with the jacket in blue. The colors of the canvas are so vivid that Tanguy’s figure seems as real as possible.

This painting anticipated those magnificent works of the painter, which were created by him much later already in Arles. The exuberance of colors and masterful transitions of color can not help but amaze. It seems both real and fabulous at the same time.