Portrait Of Patience Escalier, 1888 By Vincent Van Gogh Editorial Photo

Whereas in Paris Van Gogh had been able to draw on a stock of willing sitters from among his acquaintances to enable him to practice the art of portrait painting, as a stranger in Arles he was often dependent in the first few months on models who expected something in return for posing for him - sometimes the portrait itself, sometimes hard cash. As on previous occasions, Van Gogh looked for characteristic 'types' to suit his purpose. Around 8 August, for example, he had set his heart on painting 'a poor old peasant'. The Paris art dealer Thomas had recently bought a work entitled The Peasant from Anquetin, a fact which Van Gogh perhaps saw as justification for his choice of motif: there would appear to be a market for peasants. The peasant on whom Vincent's choice had fallen, however, proved unreasonable in his demands, and a few days later the artist succeeded in finding an alternative candidate of a similar type. His name was Patience Escalier, 'formerly a cowhand in the Camargue, now a gardener at one of the farms in La Crau', and he would appear to have been a less demanding model. The painter was so taken with the latter's portrait that he immediately informed Theo about it.'