Vincent van Gogh, In the Cafe: Agostina Segatori in Le Tambourin, Paris, January-March, 1887, oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Title: In the Cafe: Agostina Segatori in Le Tambourin, 1887
Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
Vincent van Gogh spent two years in Paris (1886-1888), where he lived with his brother Theo, an art dealer. It was an important period in Vincent’s artistic development when he discovered the vivid color and bright light of the Impressionists.
In the painting above, we enter the world of the Parisian cafe nearing the turn of the nineteenth century. The French capital was then a major arts center where Vincent and his fellow artists congregated to discuss their newest ideas and methods. The subject is Agostina Segatori, owner of the Cafe Le Tambourin (or tambourines in English), the origin of its name evident in the shape of the table and stools.
One of Vincent’s friends (and possible lover), Segatori allowed him to decorate her establishment with some of his works. In this portrait, he depicts her attired in a stylish olive-colored jacket and skirt as well as a flamboyant red headdress. Notice too she is smoking a cigarette, then considered a rather risqué act for a woman to engage in publicly. A mug of beer is her choice of refreshment, at least her second drink. For don’t her eyes reflect perhaps a state of inebriation?
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