Portrait of Patience Escalier

An old shepherd from the Camargue

Patience Escalier was an elderly peasant who had worked as a shepherd in the Camargue and as a gardener near Arles. Van Gogh painted him in August 1888 and described him to Theo as a kind of “man of the fields.” He painted two versions; this one is in a private collection, and the other belongs to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.

A face burned by the sun

Escalier’s face is built from strokes of orange, red, green and white. His white stubble, heavy brows and deep-set eyes give him a weathered, watchful look. Van Gogh wrote that he wanted to suggest the heat of harvest time in the middle of the day.

Hands folded on a stick

His large, knotted hands rest one on top of the other on a stick. They are painted in yellows and greens with dark outlines, as solid as tools. A red scarf is knotted at his neck.

Orange heat behind him

The background is a blaze of orange and yellow. Van Gogh said he wanted it to evoke a furnace at harvest time, and he deliberately exaggerated the colours. He was proud of this kind of “arbitrary” colour, used to express character rather than to copy nature.

The blue smock against the orange background is a strong complementary contrast, typical of his Arles period.

Questions about Portrait of Patience Escalier

Who was Patience Escalier?

An old peasant from the region of Arles who had worked as a shepherd and gardener.

When was it painted?

In August 1888, in Arles.

Are there two versions?

Yes. One is in a private collection, the other in the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena.

Why is the background orange?

Van Gogh wanted it to suggest the heat of harvest, a furnace-like glow.

Sources and image credit

• Van Gogh Letters: letter 663, to Theo, August 1888
• Wikimedia Commons: Bildnis Patience Escalier

Public-domain reproduction of Portrait of Patience Escalier (1888), via Wikimedia Commons. Detail images are crops of the same image; no reconstruction or upscaling.