Rare color lithograph, Arches velin paper, 70 x 53 cm,
framed, published in 1959 at Atelier Mourlot Paris in a small edition for collection purposes.
The Impressionists like other later avant-garde painters owed their survival to the patience and determination of literally a few art dealers. Their support was invaluable. One man who went down in history as a friend of artists was Juien Tanguy (1825-1894). In the 1880s, Julien ran a small paint store in Montmartre at 14 rue Clauzel. Affectionately called "Father" (Père) Tanguy, Julien Tanguy was an affable and kind-hearted seller of paints and painting supplies in Paris, as well as an art dealer. His store on Rue Clauzel became a meeting place and exchange of ideas for avant-garde artists, including Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Tanguy often accepted paintings as a form of payment for paints, making his store act as an informal gallery , displaying them for sale on his store window, sometimes knowing that he would not succeed in selling them.
Julian had a fairly close relationship with Vincent van Gogh when the latter lived in Paris. From Vincent, too, he accepted paintings in payment for goods issued, although he knew in advance at the time that selling them was basically impossible. Apparently, it was only after the painter's death, in 1892, that he sold his work "Irises" for the sum of 300 francs. In 1990, 100 years later at an auction in New York, the painting fetched a price of $54 million.
Van Gogh painted three portraits of Tanguy between 1886 and 1888, which document his artistic evolution after arriving in Paris and encountering new styles. The most recognizable of these portraits (the final version from 1887, located in the Musée Rodin in Paris. It is unique in that it combines the influence of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and, above all, Japanese woodcuts (ukiyo-e).
Tanguy sits against a wall completely covered with colorful Japanese woodcuts that he himself sold, and that Van Gogh and his brother Theo collected. These engravings symbolized for Van Gogh the search for peace and harmony (serenitas). One can recognize the motifs of Mount Fuji or Kabuki actors in the background. The figure is static and calm, and his pose, with clasped hands, is sometimes compared to the serenity of Buddha or a Japanese sage, further emphasizing the Eastern influence on the composition.
Julien Tanguy's profile as an important person in Van Gogh's life was immortalized in the Oscar-nominated production of "Your Vincent." A third portrait painted by the artist was used to open the figure.
