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The Lover (Portrait of Lieutenant Milliet), 1888
Milliet’s success with women, about which Van Gogh was both amused and envious, made the lieutenant the perfect model for The Lover. Van Gogh depicts Milliet in the dashing uniform of the Zouaves—one of the infantry units linked to North Africa—whose star and crescent regimental emblem Van Gogh reverses (for reasons unknown) in the background. The men became friends in Arles, with Van Gogh giving Milliet drawing lessons.
Oil on canvas
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands