À propos de l’œuvre
Portrait d'Eugène Boch, par Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh · September 1888 · Arles
Eugène Boch, known as Le Poète, F462Reproduction of oil painting on canvas
Belgian painter Eugène Boch appears in a yellow jacket in front of a nocturnal blue punctuated with stars: Van Gogh makes him the image of a dreamer.
Look at the work
A face as clear as a star in the night
Van Gogh met Eugène Boch near Arles during the summer of 1888. He wanted to paint an artist friend "who dreams big dreams" and chose a very simple bust pose. The thin face, green eyes and short beard are observed carefully, without workshop accessories.
The ocher yellow jacket occupies the bottom of the composition and responds to the overseas background. Small light dots and a star make this blue an infinite sky rather than a wall. This opposition gives the face an almost luminous appearance, in accordance with the project described to Theo.
Van Gogh calls the portrait "The Poet": he transforms a friendly resemblance into a modern allegory of the artist absorbed by his dreams.
Composition, touch and color
Three observations specific to this painting
The complementary contrast of yellow and blue organizes the entire canvas, from earthly clothing to the nocturnal and immaterial background.
A cosmic background
Deep blue indicates no real location. The small stars give the model the symbolic depth Van Gogh sought.
An angular face
High forehead, hollow cheeks and narrow beard form an almost sharp silhouette, softened by touches of green, pink and ocher.
Yellow versus blue
The jacket absorbs several muted yellows while the blue and purple superimposed background. Their opposition immediately fixes the head.
Documented benchmarks
Precisely identify the original work
F462/JH1574 corresponds to the portrait given by Van Gogh to Eugène Boch, then bequeathed by the model to the French State in 1941.
The poet
Van Gogh describes his ambition in his letters: to show a dreamy artist in front of the richest blue he can produce.
Hanging in the bedroom
The portrait appears on the wall in the first version of The Room in Arles, proof of his personal importance to Van Gogh.
RF 1944 9
Eugène Boch kept the work all his life and bequeathed it in 1941; it is today exhibited at the Musée d'Orsay.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Reproduction must preserve the depth of the starry background, the halftones of the face and the muffled yellow of the jacket without hardening the contours.
- The yellow star placed in the upper corner
- The clear points scattered throughout the ultramarine
- Green eyes and very angular face
- The tie striped with red, blue and green
- The ocher jacket constructed with wide touches
Work sheet
| Title | Eugène Boch, known as Le Poète, F462 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Vincent van Gogh (1853 -1890) |
| Date | September 1888 |
| Place of creation | Arles |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 60.3 × 45.4 cm |
| Inventory | Musée d'Orsay RF 1944 9 · F462 · JH1574 |
| Conservation | Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
From order to shipping
In your interior
A meditative portrait between ocher and midnight blue
The vertical format and deep range are suitable for a bedroom, bookcase or office. Night blue dialogues with brass, medium wood and cream walls.
Frequently asked questions
Before ordering
Is this a canvas print?
No. Each reproduction is manually painted in oil on canvas. Brushstrokes and material variations belong to the final result.
How is the visual reference chosen?
The public domain reference image was reduced to 2181 × 3000 px and then converted to WebP, without artificial enlargement.
Can I check the result before shipping?
Yes. Photographs of the finished painting are sent to you; you can request alterations before validating the shipment.
Are custom formats possible?
Yes. The format can be adapted to your wall while maintaining the proportions and balance of the original composition.
