The Postman (Joseph-Étienne Roulin)
1889
Oil on canvas
65.7 × 55.2 cm (25.9 × 21.7 in)
SEE IT IN PERSON
● On view now — Collection Gallery, Room 02, North Wall
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia · verified July 2026
Discussion
FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG
Vincent van Gogh probably met Joseph Étienne-Roulin, a postman at the Arles train station in the South of France, when the artist rented a room above the nearby Café de la Gare. The two shared similar left-leaning political views and became close friends; in fact it was Roulin who cared for Van Gogh during his hospital stay in nearby Saint-Rémy. Van Gogh painted six portraits of Roulin between 1888 and 1889 as well as several of Roulin's wife and children.
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