The Italian Woman by van Gogh 1887

 

Italian Woman was painted in 1887 by Vincent van Gogh in Neo-Impressionism style. The woman is Agostina Segatori (1843-1910), a former model of Corot, Gérôme and Manet with whom Van Gogh seems to have had a brief love affair a few months before this portrait was painted.

Neo-impressionism is the name given to the post-impressionist work of Georges Seurat, Paul Signac and their followers who, inspired by optical theory, painted using tiny adjacent dabs of primary color to create the effect of light.

Agostina Segatori was important enough to Van Gogh for him to mention her in two of his letters to Theo Van Gogh, his younger brother, who used to help Van Gogh monetarily and constantly encourage him to keep painting.
The Italian Woman by van Gogh 1887