Madame Ginoux the owner of the Café de la Gare in Arles, France. Van Gogh came to know Madame Ginoux, or Marie Jullian the wife of Joseph-Michel Ginoux, while he took lodging at the café from May to September of 1888 before moving into the Yellow House. Shortly following the arrival of Gauguin at the Yellow House Madame Ginoux agreed to sit for a portrait for Gauguin and Van Gogh. Within an hour, Gauguin created a preparatory sketch out of charcoal for a later painting while at the same time Van Gogh used thick jute canvas that Gauguin had brought with him to Arles and painted her full portrait.
Courtesy of Van Gogh Museum