L'Arlesiana (Ritratto di M.me Ginoux) (1890) by Vincent van GoghLa Galleria Nazionale
In 1889 Madame Ginoux was portrayed both by Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin in two different portraits.
The woman was the owner of the Cafè de La Gare in Arles who had assisted the artist during some of his violent crises and, in particular, helped him after he cut off his own ear.
Van Gogh produced another five iterations of this painting.
Madame Ginoux is always seated at a table with her head resting in her hand with two books in the foreground.
In the version kept by the Galleria Nazionale it is possible to read the two titles: La Case de l’oncle Tom, and Contes de Noël, which probably allude to the ethical qualities and humanitarian values of women.
The painting was stolen in 1998 along withThe Gardener and Cézanne's Le cabanon de Jourdan. All paitings were recovered and returned to the museum in July of the same year.
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