Self-Portrait
Appreciation
Self-Portrait Nederland Vincent van Gogh Gallery and Appreciation
Vincent van Gogh's Self-Portrait, shown above, is typical of many of his works produced while living with his brother, Theo, in Paris in 1887. In his book The New Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches Jan Hulsker comments:
". . . . one is struck by the profusion of red and blue dots swarming over the dark green background and by the manner in which the reddish brown of the jacket is rendered in a kind of mosaic of dark blue-green, orange-red, and yellow dots. The bright red beard and yellow-brown hair have been built up from separate brushstrokes in forceful colors, and Vincent has left touches of unmixed complementary green in the eyebrows, hair and beard."
It's difficult to speculate on what Van Gogh himself thought of this work. Vincent often discussed in great detail on many of his own works through his letters to Theo; however, during the time that Vincent actually lived with Theo the letters, naturally enough, stopped. Still, one can comment on the interesting technique employed in this work. Note the Pointillist style Vincent employs--typical of a number of his paintings at this specific stage in his career as an artist. During his time in Paris Vincent became familiar with many of the Impressionist artists of the day--men who were struggling with new ways of expressing themselves through art. Georges Seurat was one of the many painters Vincent came to know. Seurat's unusual Pointillist style had a distinctive and positive influence on Van Gogh's works at the time, but soon Vincent would discover a style uniquely his own.