Postman Poetry

Vincent van Gogh, Portrait of Joseph Roulin, 1889. Oil on canvas, 25 3/8 x 21 3/4 in. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A. M. Burden, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rosenberg, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Mr. and Mrs. Armand P. Bartos, The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection, Mr. and Mrs. Werner E. Josten, and Loula D. Lasker Bequest (all by exchange). Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art /Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY

Vincent van Gogh, Portrait of Joseph Roulin, 1889. Oil on canvas, 25 3/8 x 21 3/4 in. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A. M. Burden, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rosenberg, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Mr. and Mrs. Armand P. Bartos, The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection, Mr. and Mrs. Werner E. Josten, and Loula D. Lasker Bequest (all by exchange). Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art /Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY

 

One of van Gogh’s closest friends when he lived in Arles was Joseph Roulin, who worked for the local post office. Van Gogh executed six paintings and three drawings of Roulin between 1888 and 1889. The artist thought so highly of Roulin that he confessed in a letter to his brother Theo, “I don’t know if I will be able to paint the Postman as I feel him.”

How would you choose to represent one of your closest friends or family member? How would you emphasize how they make you feel and what they mean to you?

We’ve been asking visitors to use haiku, a Japanese 17 syllable poem.

Title: Person’s name
Line 1: 5 syllables describing how you know him or her
Line 2: 7 syllables describing what he or she looks like
Line 3: 5 syllables describing how you feel about him or her

Graduate Intern Beth Rizley Evans wrote one about her sister to help inspire you.

Cassandra
Sister, doctor, friend
We look like repetitions
She laughs at my jokes

Proud of your work? Share your haiku on Twitter and tag it #vangoghhaiku.