Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin

MediumOil on canvasDimensions55.5 cm × 46.5 cm (21.9 in × 18.3 in)LocationVan Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1887. Agostina Segatori owned the Café du Tambourin that Van Gogh knew intimately. It was a gathering spot for Parisian artists, a place where their work was exhibited. Van Gogh, unable to pay in cash for his meals, exchanged paintings for his fare. The paintings then adorned the restaurant. He held a special exhibit of his Japanese prints in the café as well. His connection with Agostina and the cafe came to a sad end when she went bankrupt and van Gogh's paintings were confiscated by creditors. This painting, however, demonstrates an artistic discovery that culminated in his unique, creative style not quite on the brink of being understood and revered.

Van Gogh's influence in Paris

In 1886 van Gogh left the Netherlands, never to return, for Paris and the guidance of his brother Theo. He entered Paris as a shy, somber man and while his personality would never change, he emerged artistically into what one critic described as a "singing bird". While van Gogh had been influenced by great Dutch masters, coming to Paris meant that he was influenced by Impressionists, Symbolists, Pointillists, and Japanese prints. His circle of friends included Camille Pissarro, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard and others. The works of Japanese artists Hiroshige and Hokusai greatly influenced van Gogh, both for the beautiful subject matter and the style of flat patterns of colors without shadow. Van Gogh explored the various influences and molded them into a style that was uniquely his own. In the years 1886 to 1888, van Gogh emerged as a sophisticated, thoughtful and provoking artist. This painting demonstrates his journey of creativity in that period.^[1]

The painting

In the painting Agostina, a woman in her forties, can be seen smoking a cigarette while having her second glass of beer, evidenced by two saucers under the mug of beer. In demeanor and style, such as her clothing, make-up and hairstyle, she is a modern woman. She is wearing a fashionable hat. According to the style at the time, her jacket is a different design than her dress. A parasol sits on one of the seats next to her.

Van Gogh used the theme of a woman sitting at a small table, introduced by Impressionists, such as Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet. The table and stools were in the shape of tambourines, befitting the café's theme. On the wall behind her are van Gogh's Japanese prints, which he began exhibiting at the café in February 1887.^[2][3][4]

The brightly colored painting and confident subject represent a shift in Van Gogh's attitude in comparison to his earlier subjects, such as his dark and tragic peasants. Even more, van Gogh's Portrait of Père Tanguy from the fall of the same year further explores his use of color and better promotes his Japanese prints.^[5]

Café du Tambourin

Van Gogh occasionally visited Café du Tambourin run by Agostina Segatori, the subject of this painting. Previously an artist's model^[2][6] to Manet, Corot and others,^[3] the Naples-born Agostina saved the money she earned working as a model and opened the Italian-themed Café du Tambourin in 1885, which particularly catered to artists.^[4]

The café on the Boulevard de Clichy in Paris was just around the corner from the home that Vincent lived in with his brother Theo. Besides convenience, the restaurant was notable to Van Gogh as a venue for exhibition of his paintings, a practice initiated by artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul-Albert Besnard and others.^[3]

In 1887 van Gogh had several meals a week at the café which were paid in paintings to adorn the restaurant's walls. He fell in love with Agostina who was twelve years older. Soon after, though, Agostina and the establishment fell on hard times. She became ill and the business, in debt and likely involved in illegal prostitution, failed. Although assured by Agostina that van Gogh could claim his paintings, according to Émile Bernard's recollection, debtors sold them^[3] "as waste canvas"^[7] in batches of 10, ranging in price from 50 centimes to one franc per bundle.^[3] Due to the bankruptcy of the cafe van Gogh lost not only the paintings, mostly still life works of flowers,^[8] but also the frames.^[9]

Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin is on display at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.^[2][6]

See also

GeneralGroups of
worksOil paintings

1882	Beach at Scheveningen in Stormy Weather Girl in White in the Woods Lying Cow A Girl in the Street, Two Coaches in the Background
1883	Cows in the Meadow Farmhouses Among Trees Bulb Fields Landscape with a Church at Twilight Landscape with Dunes Footbridge across a Ditch Marshy Landscape A Wind-Beaten Tree Farm with Stacks of Peat Farmhouses in Loosduinen near The Hague at Twilight Three Figures near a Canal with Windmill
1884	Two Rats Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen Landscape with Pollard Willows Cart with Black Ox Cart with Red and White Ox Lane in Autumn Water Mill at Opwetten Water Mill at Kollen Village at Sunset Avenue of Poplars in Autumn Avenue of Poplars at Sunset Head of an Old Farmer's Wife in a White Hat
1885	Still Life with Straw Hat The Potato Eaters Peasant Woman Digging Peasant Woman Digging Up Potatoes Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette
1886	Vase with Red Poppies Vase with White and Red Carnations The Kingfisher
1887	Poppy Flowers Wheat Field with a Lark View of Paris from Vincent's Room in the Rue Lepic Portrait of Père Tanguy A Woman Walking in a Garden Imperial Fritillaries in a Copper Vase Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin Red Cabbages and Garlic
1888	Madame Roulin and Her Baby Landscape with Snow La Mousmé The Zouave Still Life: Vase with Oleanders The Night Café The Yellow House Van Gogh's Chair Café Terrace at Night Starry Night Over the Rhône Portrait of the Artist's Mother Bedroom in Arles The Painter on the Road to Tarascon Les Alyscamps A Lane in the Public Garden at Arles Falling Autumn Leaves L'Arlésienne The Red Vineyard Memory of the Garden at Etten (Ladies of Arles) Les Arènes Interior of a Restaurant in Arles A Lane near Arles Arles: View from the Wheat Fields Sunset at Montmajour Farmhouse in Provence Orchard with Cypresses
1889	Valley with Ploughman Seen from Above View of Arles, Flowering Orchards Portrait of Doctor Rey Crab on its Back Two Crabs Irises Lilac Bush The Starry Night The Gardener Self-portrait (1889) Self-portrait without beard Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear A Meadow in the Mountains: Le Mas de Saint-Paul A Road at Saint-Remy with Female Figure Enclosed Field with Peasant Rain Cypresses Wheat Field with Cypresses Green Wheat Field with Cypress The Diggers The Ravine of the Peyroulets Ivy View of the Asylum and Chapel of Saint-Rémy The Large Plane Trees
1890	The Siesta Road with Cypress and Star At Eternity's Gate Thatched Cottages and Houses Portrait of Dr. Gachet Doctor Gachet's Garden in Auvers Houses at Auvers White House at Night Landscape with a Carriage and a Train Girl in White The Church at Auvers Daubigny's Garden Farms near Auvers The Cows The Town Hall at Auvers Blossoming Chestnut Branches Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat Still Life: Vase with Pink Roses Portrait of Adeline Ravoux Plain near Auvers Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds Wheatfield with Crows Prisoners' Round (after Gustave Doré) Tree Roots Landscape at Auvers in the Rain Poppy Field

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