The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is presenting a remarkable exhibition starting Friday, October 3rd, bringing together portraits of the Roulin family that are normally scattered across museums worldwide. Joseph Roulin, a postal worker from Arles, became a crucial support system for Vincent van Gogh during the artist's darkest hours in southern France.
The exhibition "Van Gogh and the Roulins. Finally Together" features 14 portraits depicting Joseph Roulin, his wife Augustine, and their three children. This ambitious undertaking required nearly seven years of planning and coordination with approximately ten institutions across the Netherlands, United States, and Germany. The complex logistics have been compared to a high-stakes game of collecting family cards across international museums.
"These are portraits that are now masterpieces, so lending a work that is truly a flagship piece of a museum is not easy," explained curator Nienke Bakker to AFP. The 53-year-old curator emphasized the extraordinary nature of bringing together these dispersed works, even temporarily. A previous family reunion had already taken place earlier this year at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, which serves as a partner for this exhibition and holds two portraits of Joseph Roulin and his wife Augustine in its permanent collection.
When Vincent van Gogh settled in Arles in 1888, seeking new colors and light for his art, he found in his neighbor Joseph Roulin a quasi-paternal figure, as evidenced in letters he sent to his brother Theo. The postal worker, with his cap reading "Postes" and his long beard nearly touching the collar of his navy blue uniform with golden buttons, appears to gaze at the Dutch painter with benevolence across four portraits featured in the exhibition.
The members of the postal worker's family also became muses for the painter, allowing him to express his artistic ambitions through their portraits. "He painted soldiers, workers, a little fisherman boy, babies, mothers, rich people, poor people," enumerated Nienke Bakker. "This is really, for him, the way to feel connected to humanity: through painting, but especially through portraits," she continued. The exhibition showcases this human connection, including two portraits of teenager Armand, the eldest son of the Roulin family, normally displayed in museums in Rotterdam and Essen, Germany.
Following a burst of creativity during which van Gogh painted numerous portraits of the Roulin family as well as his famous Sunflowers series within just a few months, the painter rapidly descended into a profound psychiatric crisis that culminated when he cut off his ear. Joseph Roulin proved to be a true pillar of support for the artist during this difficult period, visiting him daily at the hospital and maintaining regular correspondence with Theo van Gogh.
The exhibition includes these historical letters as part of its comprehensive display, along with, for the first time, the actual chair on which Joseph Roulin posed during the original portrait sessions. This unique addition provides visitors with an intimate connection to the creative process that produced these masterworks. The reunion of the Roulin family portraits represents a rare opportunity to see van Gogh's exploration of human relationships and his deep connection to this supportive family.
Visitors will be able to admire these extraordinary reunions until January 11, 2026, after which the family will once again be separated and returned to their respective museums around the world. The exhibition represents not only a logistical triumph but also an artistic celebration of the profound friendship between van Gogh and the Roulin family, demonstrating how personal relationships can inspire some of art history's most beloved masterpieces.
