Vincent Van Gogh got acquainted with the work of Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli (Marseille 1824 - 1886) thanks to his brother Théo, who owned five of his paintings. Van Gogh was so fascinated by his works that he studied them in depth and tried to worm the secrets out his palette and unique painting technique, which was so dense with matter and color that would become a real support for his artistic future. A highly regarded artist in his lifetime but then suddenly forgotten, Monticelli left an important corpus of works that is slowly regaining its deserved place in the history of French mid-19th-century art. On August 26th, 1888 Van Gogh wrote to his sister Willemien about him: “He was a strong man, just a bit insane (sometimes a little much), dreaming of sunlight, love and happiness, but always frustrated by his condition of poverty. He was a colorist endowed with a highly refined taste, a unique man, one of those men who carry on the best traditions. He died in Marseilles rather sadly, and probably after going through great suffering. Well, I am sure that I will be his continuator, as if I were his son o brother”. It is not hard to see in this description of Monticelli, written by Vincent, the foreboding of his life and earthly adventure.