Imã Agostina Segatori in Cafe du Tambourin by Van Gogh

Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin by Vincent Van Gogh, oil on canvas 1887, is a portrait painting of a woman seated at a small round table in a café, smoking a cigarette with parasol at her side. Wearing an elegant hat with patterned jacket and dress, the thoroughly modern Agostina owned the café on the Boulevard de Clichy frequented by Van Gogh and many artists. In the background are Japanese prints that Van Gogh displayed there. Areas of brilliant, flattened color combined with divided, painterly brushstrokes demonstrate the beginnings of the mature Post-Impressionist style that Van Gogh developed in the final years of his life. Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890) was a Dutch painter of the Post-Impressionist movement known for bold, expressive drawing, swirling brushstrokes and bold, heightened colors. In early adulthood Van Gogh worked as an art dealer, teacher and pastor before taking up the full time study of drawing and painting in his late twenties. Influenced by Rembrandt, the 19th century Realists and Barbizon school, Van Gogh's early paintings featured studies of workers and peasants in somber earth tones. Moving to France in 1886, Van Gogh met with the startling innovations of the Impressionist painters and began to apply their approach to color and subject matter, which continued into the mature style for which the artist is most renowned. Van Gogh produced many hundreds of drawings and paintings including portraits, landscapes, still life and flower paintings, and numerous self-portraits that became a dominating influence on the modern art of the 20th century and made him one of the most popular artists of all time.