Vincent Van Gogh, Père Tanguay, 1886

Van Gogh's painting of Julien "Père" (or father, as he was called by younger artists) Tanguay shows an elderly man sitting in his shop's gallery of art.

The wall contains quite the collection of Japanese art, which Tanguay loved. In his shop, Tanguay sold a multitude of objects to artists. These included canvas, paints, brushes, and other materials. Vincent Van Gogh, through the help of Julien Tanguay, met a variety of famous painters, such as Seurat, Cezanne, and Gaugin (with whom he formed a much discussed friendship).

Tanguay sometimes even helped Van Gogh and other financially limited painters by giving them art supplies. Van Gogh always appreciated and respected Tanguay, and thus painted him as a kind-hearted man living life in a laid back style.

Van Gogh actually painted Julien Tanguay three times. Critics said of the first painting that it makes Tanguay look like a workman rather than an art dealer, as Van Gogh primarily used brown throughout the painting to create Tanguay's image along with a touch of red on his lips and green on his apron.

Van Gogh later started to experiment with brighter colors and applied this new trend to his second and third paintings of Tanguay. Julien Tanguay himself decided to keep the first of the paintings, perhaps due to a preference for the use of brown. He may have seen himself as a workman.