A Portrait of Gratitude for the Paint-Shop Owner: Van Gogh's Père Tanguy

This painting is Vincent van Gogh's Père Tanguy. The man seated at the center of the canvas is Père Tanguy, a notable figure in the Paris art world of the 1890s. Tanguy ran a paint shop near Place Pigalle in Paris, and since paint was something every painter needed, he naturally built friendships with a wide circle of artists. Among those who frequented his shop were painters we now know well — Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Cézanne, and Van Gogh.

Tanguy supported these painters in his own way. Running a paint shop meant he could hand out free paint now and then, and he'd also hang their paintings in his shop for others to see. One day, Van Gogh, wanting to show his gratitude, painted a portrait of Tanguy in return. Van Gogh is known to have painted three portraits of Tanguy in total, and this is one of them.

Behind Tanguy in the painting, the wall is covered with posters depicting Japan. European interest in Japanese culture was exploding at the time, and many artists collected Japanese paintings and woodblock prints, drawing inspiration from them — Van Gogh included. That's why he painted Tanguy with something of the air of an Eastern sage, filling the background with symbols of Japan, from Mount Fuji to geisha figures.

Technically speaking, Van Gogh made effective use of complementary colors in this piece, and his signature impasto technique — thick, textured brushwork — is on full display. It gives the figure a striking sense of dimension, and the painting deserves recognition as one of Van Gogh's underrated masterpieces. Rodin himself was fond of this style of Van Gogh's work, and he purchased this painting after Tanguy's death.