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The Zouave

ca. June 20, 1888
Not on view
During a spell of torrential rain that interrupted his harvest series (June 20–24), Van Gogh made his first real effort at portraiture in Arles. Two days into his campaign, he announced to Theo: "I have a model at last—a Zouave—a boy with a small face, a bull neck, and the eye of the tiger." The present work served as a color study for his bust-length portrait of the dashing young soldier. In the oil painting, Van Gogh heightened the "savage combination of incongruous tones," fleshed out the character's likeness, and placed him in a convincing setting. That July he sent the watercolor, with dedicatory inscription, to his "comrade Émile Bernard."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Zouave
  • Artist: Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-sur-Oise)
  • Date: ca. June 20, 1888
  • Medium: Reed pen and brown ink, wax crayon and watercolor, over graphite on wove paper
  • Dimensions: 12 3/8 x 9 5/16 in. (31.5 x 23.6 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Emanie Philips, 1962
  • Object Number: 62.151
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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The Potato Peeler (reverse: Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat), Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Oil on canvas
The Potato Peeler (reverse: Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat)
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Road in Etten
Vincent van Gogh
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Wheat Field, Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Reed pen and logwood ink over graphite on wove paper
Wheat Field
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