Landscape on Martinique
Charles Laval (1861 - 1894), Martinique, 1887-1888
oil on canvas, 59.7 cm x 73.1 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
In this painting, a woman enters from the left, almost like a scene from a play. She is a ‘porteuse’ – a woman who carried goods on her head, forced to perform gruelling labour long after the abolition of slavery because of the limited economic opportunities. Such women set out on foot from the plantations, covering long distances through inhospitable terrain. Unintentionally, Laval uses the orange-red winding path to trace their journey.
Laval painted this landscape on the Caribbean island of Martinique, where he travelled to with his friend Paul Gauguin in 1887. Upon his return, Laval joined Gauguin in Pont-Aven, where he was introduced to Van Gogh’s work.
- Object number
- s0378V1982
- Dimensions
- 59.7 cm x 73.1 cm, 77.5 cm x 91.5 cm, 9 cm
- Provenance
- Purchased by Andries Bonger, Amsterdam, probably through Theo van Gogh, before 1904; after his death on 20 January 1936 inherited by his widow, Françoise W.M. Bonger-van der Borch van Verwolde, Amsterdam; sold by Françoise W.M. Bonger-van der Borch van Verwolde to the Theo van Gogh Stichting, Laren, 1974; given on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, 1974; transferred by the Theo van Gogh Foundation to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Amsterdam, 15 October 1982; given on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh from 15 October 1982, and at the Van Gogh Museum since 1 July 1994.
- artist
- Charles Laval
- Credits (obliged to state)
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
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