Image: public domain, courtesy of Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
Self-Portrait
Van Gogh painted 36 self-portraits, and this is one of his last, made in Saint-Rémy in southern France in 1889. Long, swirling strokes of blue fill his painter's smock and the background, and he holds a palette and brushes.
🎧 Audio guide available in the 3D museum
Did you know?
- He painted it at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, an old monastery near Saint-Rémy that had become a hospital.
- Look at the background: the swirling strokes follow the shape of his head, like a glowing halo.
- His orange hair and rusty beard stand out sharply against the cool blues and violets around him.
- He turns his shoulders to the left and looks at us out of the corners of his blue eyes.
- In 1912 it was shown at the great Sonderbund exhibition of modern art in Cologne, Germany.
- Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney of New York bought it in 1947 and gave it to the National Gallery in 1998.
About the artist
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was born in the Netherlands and worked there, in Paris, in the south of France at Arles and Saint-Rémy, and finally at Auvers-sur-Oise.
In only about ten years as an artist he created hundreds of vibrant paintings, among them Sunflowers, The Starry Night, Irises and The Bedroom.
He wrote more than 800 letters, most of them to his beloved brother Theo, full of warmth and of his joy in color and nature.
More works
The BedroomVincent van Gogh, 1889
Fishing in Spring, the Pont de Clichy (Asnières)Vincent van Gogh, 1887
RosesVincent van Gogh, 1890
Wheat Field with CypressesVincent van Gogh, 1889
IrisesVincent van Gogh, 1890
Self-Portrait with a Straw HatVincent van Gogh, 1887
A Sunday on La Grande JatteGeorges Seurat, 1884–86
At the Moulin RougeHenri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892–95
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