Vincent van Gogh - Coal Barges 1888

Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin 1888 Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin 1888 Coal Barges 1888 Coal Barges 1888 Encampment of Gypsies with Caravans 1888 Garden Behind a House 1888 Interior of a Restaurant in Arles 1888
Coal Barges 1888

Coal Barges 1888
54x65cm oil/canvas
Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

<< Previous G a l l e r y Next >>

From Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza:
When Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles in February 1888 seeking the luminous atmosphere of the French Midi, he eschewed pointillist and Impressionist methods in favour of more synthetic forms and louder colours. The Stevedores in Arles , which clearly evidences this stylistic change, is painted with thick, elongated brushstrokes and marked colour contrasts. It shows a view of the Rhone with a blazing sunset in which the motifs of the composition— clearly influenced by Japanese art — stand out against the light. “I saw a magnificent and strange effect this evening,” wrote Vincent to his brother Theo from Arles at the beginning of August 1888. “A very big boat loaded with coal on the Rhône, moored to the quay. Seen from above it was all shining and wet with a shower; the water was yellowish-white and clouded pearl gray; the sky, lilac, with an orange streak in the west; the town, violet. On the boat some poor workmen in dirty blue and white came and went carrying the cargo on shore. It was pure Hokusai.”
Paloma Alarcó