43 Paintings, Streets of Paris, The Courtesans of Paris, as portrayed by Artists from 1850-1910 – Behind the Scenes, with footnotes #77

Vincent van Gogh
The Brothel (Le Lupanar), c. 1888
Oil on canvas
13 x 16 1/8 in. (33 x 41 cm)
The Barnes Foundation

Van Gogh painted this sketch of a brothel parlor while working in close dialogue with fellow artist Paul Gauguin. In the fall of 1888, Van Gogh convinced Gauguin to join him in Arles in the South of France, and the two artists often painted there side by side. They also visited brothels together, partly to find figural subjects for painting. Encouraged by Gauguin, Van Gogh painted this work from memory, capturing the types of people — women in bright dresses drinking with men, soldiers wearing distinctive red hats — encountered in such a setting. He used an underlying blue wash to suggest the lurid atmosphere. More on this painting

Vincent van Gogh (born March 30, 1853, Zundert, Neth. — died July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, France). Dutch painter, generally considered the greatest after Rembrandt, and one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists. The striking colour, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms of his work powerfully influenced the current of Expressionism in modern art. Van Gogh’s art became astoundingly popular after his death, especially in the late 20th century, when his work sold for record-breaking sums at auctions around the world and was featured in blockbuster touring exhibitions. In part because of his extensive published letters, van Gogh has also been mythologized in the popular imagination as the quintessential tortured artist. More on Vincent van Gogh…

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43 Paintings, Streets of Paris, The Courtesans of Paris, as portrayed by the Artists from 1850-1910 – Behind the Scenes, with footnotes #77

Vincent van Gogh
The Brothel (Le Lupanar), c. 1888
Oil on canvas
13 x 16 1/8 in. (33 x 41 cm)
The Barnes Foundation

It seems that since the Musee dÓrsay’s Exhibition, everybody had something to say! Here are some Paintings that were in the exhibition, and others…

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42 Paintings, Streets of Paris, The Courtesans of Paris, as portrayed by the Artists from 1850-1910 – Behind the Scenes, with footnotes #77

Georges Bottini
AT THE BAR: THE WOMAN IN WHITE (AU BAR: LA FEMME EN BLANC), c. 1904
Watercolor On Paper
14 5/8 x 10 5/8 in.

Soliciting was prohibited in broad daylight, but was legal for registered girls at nightfall when the streetlamps were lit. This coincided with knocking-off time for women in the workshops in which some occasional prostitutes were employed. Prostitutes may have cultivated an air of ambiguity during the day, but their appearance gradually changed as the urban landscape, illuminated by gas lamps and later by electricity, was transformed. More on Soliciting

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