Vincent van Gogh: The Smoker (Le Fumeur), Vincent van Gogh, 1888, Oil on canvas, During his stay in Arles, a small town in the rural south of France, Van Gogh concentrated on painting the town's inhabitants--including the local mailman (Room 2) and the farm workers whose simple lifestyle he admired and idealized. Here, Van Gogh depicts a peasant smoking a pipe. The figure wears a humble coat comprised of loose, muddy strokes; ruddy cheeks suggest his work outdoors. Above his shoulder, a few horizontal dashes indicate puffs of smoke; thick, unblended marks describe an ear. Despite these moments of near abstraction, Van Gogh maintains an astounding attention to naturalistic detail, paying attention to the way a person really looks and behaves. Note how the man's mouth is slightly clenched to hold the pipe; and how his moustache is uneven rather than perfectly trimmed., Overall: 24 3/4 x 18 3/4 in. (62.9 x 47.6 cm).
Vincent van Gogh: The Smoker (Le Fumeur), Vincent van Gogh, 1888, Oil on canvas, During his stay in Arles, a small town in the rural south of France, Van Gogh concentrated on painting the town's inhabitants--including the local mailman (Room 2) and the farm workers whose simple lifestyle he admired and idealized. Here, Van Gogh depicts a peasant smoking a pipe. The figure wears a humble coat comprised of loose, muddy strokes; ruddy cheeks suggest his work outdoors. Above his shoulder, a few horizontal dashes indicate puffs of smoke; thick, unblended marks describe an ear. Despite these moments of near abstraction, Van Gogh maintains an astounding attention to naturalistic detail, paying attention to the way a person really looks and behaves. Note how the man's mouth is slightly clenched to hold the pipe; and how his moustache is uneven rather than perfectly trimmed., Overall: 24 3/4 x 18 3/4 in. (62.9 x 47.6 cm)