Vincent van Gogh admired lieutenant Paul Eugène Milliet (‘The lover’) for his way with women. He confesses to Theo:

‘Milliet’s lucky, he has all the Arlésiennes he wants, but there you are, he can’t paint them, and if he was a painter he wouldn’t have any.’ In this portrait he depicts him as the prototype of a lover.

Today 133 years ago, on 25 September 1888,

Vincent van Gogh wrote to Theo from Arles:

"As long as autumn lasts I won’t have enough hands, canvas or colours to paint the beautiful things that I see. I’m also working on the portrait of Milliet, but he poses badly, or else it’s my fault, which I don’t believe, however, because I badly need some studies of him because he’s good-looking, very jaunty, very easy-going in his appearance, and he’d suit me down to the ground for a painting of lovers. I’ve already promised him a study for his trouble, but there you are, he can’t keep still.”

Paul Eugène Milliet (‘The lover’)
Arles, 1888
Oil on canvas
60,3 x 49,5 cm
Kröller-Muller Museum

You may also like to read:
Was Van Gogh jealous of Milliet?
Van Gogh's 'Paul Eugène Milliet (‘The lover’)'.

Your daily dose of Van Gogh.

<< previous | next >>
      25-09-2021 15:32     Comments ( 0 )
Comments (0)

No comments found.