Père Tanguy, 1887
Père Tanguy, as he was affectionately called by his friends, was a color grinder and occasional picture dealer with an art supply shop in Montmartre. The well-liked Parisian merchant not only shared Vincent’s obsession with Japanese woodblock prints, but was known to accept works of art from struggling painters in lieu of payment. In a nod to their friendship and mutual admiration for everything Japanese, the Dutchman portrayed Tanguy sitting calmly against a backdrop of several brightly-colored ukiyo-e prints: weather scenes, landscapes, and portraits of famous Japanese courtesans and actors.
In a humorous and tender touch, Van Gogh included a print of Mount Fuji directly behind Père Tanguy’s head, illusionistically bringing the low crown of the sitter’s hat to a dramatic peak.