Year: 2016
Medium: digital C-print
Dimensions: 121.9 x 101.6 cm (48 x 40 in.)
Acquired from nca | nichido contemporary art, 2022
The title “MASP” is an abbreviation for the Museu de Arte de São Paolo, the art museum whose collection includes the painting on which this work is based—Van Gogh’s “The Schoolboy (The Postman’s Son – Gamin au Képi)” of 1888. Van Gogh left many portraits of the Roulin family, who lived nearby during his time in Arles. They were the ones who watched over the unstable Van Gogh after he cut off his ear when the attempt to live together with Gauguin fell apart. Joseph Roulin (known in particular as the model for “Postman Joseph Roulin”), was one of the few friends Van Gogh, who struggled with social interactions, could ask to model for him. This work is part of the “REPRO” (reproduction) series, based on a painting that depicts Camille, the second son in the Roulin family. In this series, Muniz collects images from various media, including books related to the work being reproduced, and uses them to create collages. With this specific work, it seems that Muniz has collected portrait images from artworks spanning various historical periods and places of origin. By examining the details, viewers may be surprised by the works from which fragments have been taken.
