The Zouave by Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh painted The Zouave in 1888. Van Gogh's portrait of a soldier in his uniform signaled a change in his approach to color.

Vincent van Gogh's The Zouave, 1888
Vincent van Gogh's The Zouave is an oil on
canvas (25-1/2x21-1/2 inches) that is housed in
the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

The paint is applied thickly, in broad areas, in heavily saturated tones of green, red, and blue that appear more sober than bright. A division of French-Algerian soldiers billeted in Arles, France, the Zouaves were notorious for their recklessness on and off the battlefield. Van Gogh asserted that the subject inspired the palette, which he described as "a savage combination of incongruous tones."

Van Gogh successfully integrated his Impressionist and Japanese influences in Corn Fields and Poppies. Continue to the next section to learn about this painting.

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