GOGH, Vincent van
(b. 1853, Groot Zundert, d. 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise)

The Italian Woman (Agostina Segatori)

December 1887, Paris
Oil on canvas, 81 x 60 cm
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Catalogue numbers: F 381, JH 1355.

Agostina Segatori was the owner of the Café du Tambourin in Montmrtre, a favourite place of Parisian artists. She sat for van Gogh a few times. In fact the only nudes van Gogh ever painted in oil were of her.

In this portrait van Gogh's Japonism draws upon resources that have little to do with qualities of the sitter. The perfect imitation of the surface effect of what was called Japanese paper is remarkable as is the purely decorative quality of the colours.