Madame Augustine Roulin with Baby

Painted in November–December 1888 in Arles, this is one of several versions Van Gogh made of Augustine Roulin nursing her infant daughter Marcelle as part of his 'La Berceuse' series. The concept held profound meaning for Van Gogh: he imagined the painting hung in a Breton fisherman's cabin, offering solace like a lullaby amid the perils of the sea. The series was inspired partly by reading Pierre Loti's novel Pêcheur d'Islande. This version is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and shows Van Gogh at the height of his Arles period's expressive boldness.

Vivid red dominating the sitter's figure is set against an intensely decorative green background with floral motifs, a colour clash Van Gogh deliberately engineered for emotional effect. His thick, confident impasto defines Augustine's broad form, while the background is filled with a dense, almost wallpaper-like pattern drawn from his study of Japanese decorative art.