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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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In the Generalife, John Singer Sargent American, Watercolor, wax crayon, and graphite on white wove paper, American
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Madame Roulin and Her Baby, Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Oil on canvas
Madame Roulin and Her Baby
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Daniel Crommelin, Dutch Painter American, Pastel, red and black chalk, and watercolor on laid paper, mounted on cardboard, American
Daniel Crommelin
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