Vincent Van Gogh - Postman Joseph Roulin Large Clock

Portrait of Joseph Roulin / Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin (Joseph-Étienne Roulin, le postier), painted in 1889 in oil on canvas by Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh in Arles. Joseph Roulin, a postal employee in Arles, became one of Van Gogh's closest friends and one of the most frequently painted members of the Roulin family. Van Gogh presents him in the blue uniform that identified his profession, using colour to give the familiar sitter a monumental presence. The portrait belongs to a sustained series in which Van Gogh tried to move beyond physical likeness towards what he called the modern portrait.