The Roulin Family (Van Gogh Series) - The Roulin Family

The Roulin Family

Van Gogh painted the family of postman Joseph Roulin in the winter of 1888, every member more than once. The family included Joseph Roulin, the postman; his wife, Augustine; and their three children. Van Gogh described the family as "really French, even if they look like Russians." Over the course of just a few weeks, he painted Augustine and the children several times. The reason for multiple works was partly so that the Roulins could have a painting of each family member, so that with these pictures and others, their bedroom became a virtual "museum of modern art." The family's consent to modeling for van Gogh also gave him the opportunity to create more portraits, which was both meaningful and inspirational to van Gogh.

Van Gogh used color for dramatic effect. Each family member's clothes are done in bold primary colors and van Gogh used contrasting colors in the background to intensify the impact of the work.