Vincent van Gogh – Portrait of Joseph Roulin

Portrait of Joseph Roulin is the portrait Vincent van Gogh painted in Arles in early 1889 of his friend Joseph Roulin, the postal worker: a head-and-shoulders view of a man with a large curly beard that splits into two points, a blue cap with POSTES on the band and a blue uniform jacket with yellow buttons, set against a green ground full of flowers and curling stems. The original measures 64.4 x 55.2 cm and belongs to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in 16 sizes from 40 x 50 to 135 x 160 cm or to your own measurement, and send you a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.

Portrait of Joseph Roulin – Vincent van Gogh

What does Portrait of Joseph Roulin show?

The painting shows Joseph Roulin from the chest up, facing us almost straight on. He wears the blue cap of the French postal service, with the word POSTES painted in yellow letters on its band, and a deep blue double-breasted uniform jacket with two yellow buttons near the bottom edge. His face is built from small strokes of pale yellow, green and pink, with rosy cheeks, blue-green eyes and a red mouth half hidden in the beard.

The beard takes up a large part of the canvas. It flows down over the jacket in long brown, red and grey curls and divides into two rounded points, each painted as a spiral of strokes. Behind him there is no room and no horizon: the ground is a flat, dark green covered with small light dabs, crossed by orange and red stems that curl like vines, with large white and pink flowers at the sides and a white blossom beside the beard.

Who was Joseph Roulin?

Joseph Roulin was born on 4 April 1841 in Lambesc, in Provence. In Arles he worked at the railway station as an entreposeur des postes, a postal official, which is why he is usually called the postman. Van Gogh, who had few friends in the town, became close to him and to his whole family.

Van Gogh painted every member of the Roulin family more than once: Joseph, his wife Augustine, their sons Armand and Camille and the baby Marcelle. Joseph first posed for him on the day Marcelle was born, at the end of July 1888, and Augustine is the woman in the series called La Berceuse. The whole story of these portraits is told in the Wikipedia article on the Roulin family.

What did Van Gogh see in Joseph Roulin?

Van Gogh wrote about Roulin often in his letters. As Wikipedia quotes them, he compared him on many occasions to Socrates and called him such a good soul and so wise and so full of feeling and so trustful. Roulin also reminded him of the Russian writer Dostoyevsky, with the same broad forehead, broad nose and shape of the beard. Van Gogh described him as a fervent republican and socialist, and was moved to hear him sing La Marseillaise.

The friendship was tested at the end of 1888. After Van Gogh mutilated his left ear in December 1888, Roulin helped him recover and wrote to his brother Theo. This portrait, from early 1889, therefore shows a man who had just stood by the painter in his hardest weeks.

Where does the original hang?

The original belongs to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. MoMA lists it as Portrait of Joseph Roulin, Arles, early 1889, oil on canvas, 64.4 x 55.2 cm, under the object number 196.1989. According to its credit line, it came to the museum by exchange for works given by several donors.

It is not the only portrait of Roulin. Wikipedia lists a seated portrait from August 1888 in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, another from August 1888 in Detroit, one from the end of 1888 in Winterthur and two from 1889, in the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and in the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo. We paint MoMA’s version, the one with the dark green ground full of small light dabs and curling orange stems.

Portrait of Joseph Roulin or another Van Gogh portrait – which to choose?

Of the portraits in our range, this is the most colourful: a blue uniform on green, with flowers all around. Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear shows Van Gogh himself with a bandage over his ear, painted in Arles in January 1889, in the weeks after Roulin had helped him. Portrait of Dr. Gachet shows the doctor who looked after Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise in 1890, resting his head on his hand.

Self-Portrait as an Artist shows Van Gogh at work with his palette, painted in Paris before he moved to Arles, and The Yellow House shows the house in Arles where he lived and worked in 1888. Choose this portrait for a friendly face and strong colour, a self-portrait if you want the painter himself on your wall.

How is our hand-painted Portrait of Joseph Roulin made?

The painter first sets out the outline of the head, the cap and the shoulders, and the two points of the beard. Then come the green ground with its dabs, stems and flowers, the blue uniform and cap, the face in small strokes of yellow, green and pink, and last the curls of the beard, the yellow letters and the buttons. Our oil painting reproduction is painted by hand in oil on canvas with real impasto: the paint goes on thickly, so the brushstrokes stand up from the canvas as they do in the original and catch the light.

On this painting the relief matters most in the spirals of the beard, in the dabs of the background and in the petals of the flowers. A print shows only a flat surface; on our painting the strokes are real.

Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are quite the same. Before dispatch we photograph it, sending you the photograph to approve.

Which size for which wall?

Short answer: 40 x 50 or 55 x 66 cm above a desk, a chest of drawers or in a hallway, 80 x 100 or 90 x 110 cm above a sofa or a sideboard, and 120 x 140 or 135 x 160 cm for a large wall or a staircase. The upright format suits a study, a hallway, a bedroom or the wall beside a bookcase.

There are 16 sizes: 40 x 50, 55 x 66, 60 x 70, 64 x 80, 70 x 85, 75 x 90, 80 x 100, 85 x 105, 90 x 110, 93 x 115, 100 x 120, 105 x 125, 110 x 130, 120 x 140, 127 x 150 and 135 x 160 cm (width x height). The original is 55.2 cm wide and 64.4 cm high; our 55 x 66 cm size is the closest to it, so the portrait on your wall is almost exactly as large as the one in New York. With so much green and blue, it sits well on a white, cream or warm grey wall, and on a deep green or blue one that picks up the background and the uniform. As a painting for the living room it should take up about two thirds of the width of the furniture below it.

Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor, leaving 20 to 30 cm between the furniture and the bottom edge.

What if I need a custom size or a frame?

If none of the 16 sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure. Keep the proportions close to the original, otherwise the face and the beard get squeezed or stretched. Send us the width and height you want and we will quote a price and a lead time. Every painting we make is stretched over a wooden stretcher and ready to hang.

For the moulding, use our 3D application: it shows each of our frame profiles on this subject, so you can compare gold, silver, black, white and natural wood – the application is for choosing the frame only. Seeing the painting on your own wall is our separate room placement service. A gold or natural wood frame suits the warm beard and the yellow buttons, and a dark frame deepens the blue of the uniform.

How does delivery work, and what is the guarantee?

Every painting is made to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size you choose. We ship it stretched and protected, framed if you chose a frame, across the EU with no customs. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve, and we correct anything that is not right. Our returns policy applies to every order.

You will find more famous Van Gogh paintings among all our Vincent van Gogh works, and more about the painter in our article on Vincent van Gogh. If you are giving it as a present and are not sure of the size, a wall art voucher lets the recipient choose.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the original Portrait of Joseph Roulin today?

In the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The museum lists it as Portrait of Joseph Roulin, Arles, early 1889, oil on canvas, 64.4 x 55.2 cm, object number 196.1989, and its credit line records that it was acquired by exchange for works given by several donors.

When did Van Gogh paint this Portrait of Joseph Roulin?

In early 1889, in Arles in the south of France, according to MoMA. That was in the months after the crisis of December 1888, when Van Gogh mutilated his left ear and Roulin helped him recover. Van Gogh had first painted Roulin in the summer of 1888; this version is one of the later portraits of him, from 1889.

Who is the man in the Portrait of Joseph Roulin?

Joseph Roulin, born in 1841 in Lambesc, who worked at the railway station in Arles as an entreposeur des postes, a postal official, and is usually called the postman. He was one of Van Gogh’s few close friends in Arles. Van Gogh painted him, his wife Augustine and their three children, each member of the family more than once.

How many versions of the Portrait of Joseph Roulin are there?

Van Gogh painted Joseph Roulin several times in 1888 and 1889. Wikipedia lists five portraits of him: two from August 1888, in Boston and Detroit, one from late 1888 in Winterthur, and two from 1889, in the Barnes Foundation and the Kröller-Müller Museum. MoMA’s version, the one we paint, is a further portrait from early 1889.

What is in the background of the Portrait of Joseph Roulin?

A flat dark green ground covered with small light dabs, crossed by curling orange and red stems, with large white and pink flowers at the sides. There is no room, chair or window behind Roulin, so nothing draws the eye away from the face, the beard and the blue uniform.

How big is the original Portrait of Joseph Roulin?

The original is 64.4 cm high and 55.2 cm wide, an upright head-and-shoulders portrait that suits a study, a hallway or the wall above a desk. Our 55 x 66 cm size is the closest to it, and there are smaller and larger sizes from 40 x 50 up to 135 x 160 cm, as well as custom sizes painted to measure.

Is the Portrait of Joseph Roulin a good gift?

It is a warm, personal gift: a portrait of a friendship, which suits a study, a hallway, a reading corner or someone who works with letters and post or knows Provence. As a canvas painting with strong blue and green, it also works as a present for a new home, and a voucher lets the recipient choose the size.

Does your Portrait of Joseph Roulin have the raised brushstrokes of the original?

Yes. We paint our copy in impasto: the paint goes on thickly, so the brushstrokes stand up from the canvas as on Van Gogh’s original. You see it best in the spiral curls of the beard, the small dabs of the green background and the petals of the flowers, where the relief catches the light. A print cannot have this relief, because its surface is flat.

• Subject: the postman Joseph Roulin, Van Gogh’s friend in Arles, in his blue cap and uniform, with a forked curly beard, against a green ground with flowers.
• Original: early 1889, Arles, 64.4 x 55.2 cm, MoMA, New York.
• Ours: a Van Gogh reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 16 sizes from 40 x 50 to 135 x 160 cm or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.