Portrait of Etienne-Lucien Martin

Étienne-Lucien Martin was a minor figure in Van Gogh's Paris social circle during 1887, and his portrait is one of the more obscure works from that productive year of self-reinvention. Van Gogh had arrived in Paris in early 1886 with a dark, earthy palette forged in the Netherlands, and by 1887 he was systematically testing the brighter, divided techniques of the Impressionists. Portraits of acquaintances and fellow artists gave him the opportunity to experiment with new approaches while maintaining the figurative commitment that always anchored his practice.

Short, directional strokes in the Pointillist manner build up the background, while the face is handled with looser, more conventional Impressionist touches. The painting shows Van Gogh testing rather than mastering the new techniques.