Vincent van Gogh, Roulin’s Baby, 1888, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Title: Roulin’s Baby, 1888
Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
American artist Mary Cassatt (whose birthday is this Thursday) is usually associated with the subject of infants and children. Yet, did you know that Vincent van Gogh also left posterity with his impressions of baby Marcelle, the daughter of his loyal friend Joseph Roulin, the postmaster of Arles, France?
Vincent produced at least three paintings of the chubby four month old. You can find Marcelle today at the National Gallery of Art, her bright blue eyes peering outward, perhaps watching the bearded man so intent on capturing her image. Born in July, 1888, Marcelle did not die until 1980, living long enough to realize the international fame of the obscure painter her father once kindly invited into their home.
In the public domain, courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
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