The Brothel (Le Lupanar)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

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.

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