Glass of Absinthe and Café du Tambourin

While alcohol initially could make van Gogh a sociable person, we can notice that his café paintings after a year of stay in Paris started to bear an air of solitude. Possibly, as his convivial drinking developed into a noxious routine, its side effect merged and induced an opposite effect of solitude on him. As a result, he might have felt left out from the group of people he socialized when he was in the café.

The painting Agostina Segatori in the Café du Tambourin (1887) reflects van Gogh’s perceived estrangement by depicting the isolation between the artist and Segatori, the owner of the café. From the portrait, we can infer that van Gogh stays a few feet away from Segatori as he paints and leaves a symbolic gap from her, taking the role of a passive observer rather than an engaged drinking companion. He notices in his painting that Segatori barely interacts with him although she is sitting directly opposite to him; she acts as if they were strangers even though they actually were close friends intimate enough to be suspected as lovers (Tralbant, 212). Her eyes avert away and gaze into the air and ignoring his presence; without eye contact, he could not communicate with her. She also folds her arms, another gesture which says ‘Leave me alone!’ By portraying these nuances of isolation, van Gogh divulged his sense of alienation under the adverse effect of alcohol.

Glass of Absinthe (1887) delineates a more prominent ambience of solitude. In his painting, van Gogh brings us to a corner of a café where he sits alone as he drinks. We can almost share the abandoned feelings of the artist, as there is hardly a trace of interaction among people. The chair opposite to the painter is empty, indicating he is without company. Extending our view through the windows, we notice the scattered pedestrians on the street who all turn their backs to the painter as they leave. The atmosphere of isolation is accentuated by the window bars that separate the painter and the passers-by, entrapping the artist in his isolation as if confining a prison in his cell.

If drinking had caused van Gogh such lonesomeness in his later days in Paris, this side effect was not strong enough to prevent him from relapsing into alcoholism when he later sought consolation for his solitude. Perhaps he was so desperate in his yearning for solace that he had forgotten about the depression alcohol could create, and hence deluded himself to believe that alcohol could once again induce the conviviality in him. Unfortunately, the relapse failed to reignite his cordiality, but lead him further down the spiral of despair and loneliness, in which he eventually committed suicide. This irony adds to the poignancy of his tragic life and, very likely, deepens our sympathy.

Images:

Upper: Van Gogh, Vincent. Agostina Segatori in the Café du Tambourin. 1887. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Holland.

Lower: Van Gogh, Vincent. Glass of Absinthe. 1887. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Holland.