Vincent van Gogh
Dutch, 1853­1890
Self-Portrait
1886/87
Oil on artist’s board mounted on cradled panel
41 x 32.5 cm
Joseph Winterbotham Collection, 1954.326
 
Van Gogh experimented with the use of color to express emotion. In this self-portrait, his brush strokes are short and quick, and the painting dances with dots and dashes of different colors. His head is encircled with a “halo” or ring of colors, and orange dots in the background seem to reflect the orange-red of his beard.

He painted himself looking directly at the viewer with a sharp gaze. He seems to frown and wrinkle his brow in concentration. The colors are as intense as his own personality.