"Van Gogh's Portrait of a Peasant: One Work in Context," led by Susan Grace Galassi, The Frick Collection

Considered to be one of van Gogh’s masterpieces, Portrait of a Peasant (Patience Escalier) was made in 1888, at a critical turning point in the artist’s career. We will discuss the painting in the context of van Gogh’s life and work during the fifteen months he lived in Arles. Recent conservation studies carried out at the J. Paul Getty Museum in anticipation of the picture’s presentation at the Frick will aid us in our understanding of the artist’s process, as will vivid passages from Vincent’s letters to his brother, Theo, written while he was completing the painting.