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La Berceuse (The Lullaby), 1889
Van Gogh painted Augustine Roulin and her children on several occasions before creating this symbolic depiction of her as an ideal of motherhood, a rope to rock an unseen cradle in her lap. With a title that could be translated as The Lullaby, this canvas was one of several versions, the first of which was begun in Gauguin’s company in late 1888. Its flattened areas of colour, bounded by firm outlines, show Van Gogh contributing new ideas to the latest artistic developments in Paris.
Oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Bequest of John T. Spaulding