A Guinguette
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Paris, February-March 1887
pencil, pen and brush and ink, chalk, on paper,
38.7 cm x 52.5 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
This drawing is remarkably loose and spontaneous. It is easy to imagine Van Gogh sitting in the corner of an outdoor café in Paris, sketching the benches, the gnarled trees and the customers.
The somewhat gloomy atmosphere of the work comes from the brownish-yellow discolouration of the paper. At the edges, you can see that the paper was originally blue-grey. It must once have had a fresher appearance. Van Gogh made this drawing in pencil, pen and brush and ink. He used white chalk to add a few light accents in the sky.