Biography

Vincent Van Gogh was the artist who created the painting we used as our example on the previous page. Van Gogh charted his development as an artist in an amazing series of candid self portraits. These not only display the changes in his painting technique, but also reveal his psychological state with a humility and honesty not seen since Rembrandt. In the last five years of his life he painted over thirty self portraits.

The self portrait above from the Musée d'Orsay brings together all the elements of Van Gogh's later work: a choice of colour that reflects his emotional state and a style of drawing that pulsates with energy. It was painted shortly after he left the St. Remy asylum in July 1889 and shows that he was still fighting his demons. It is arguably the most intense self portrait in the history of art.

This painting is representational, but it is more a portrait of Van Gogh's internal crisis. His piercing eyes hold you transfixed but their focus is not on what is happening outside, but inside his head. The energy of the picture builds from the eyes which are the most tightly drawn feature. The rhythms of his brushstrokes spread across the planes of his face, gaining energy as they ripple through his jacket and hair, and finally burst into the churning turbulence of the ice-blue background. The cool blues and greens that he uses are normally calm colours, but when they are contrasted with his vivid red hair and beard they strike a jarring note which perfectly sets the psychological tone of the portrait. This is a courageous image of the man trying to hold himself together as he confronts his inner fears.

Self Portrait Biography

1886
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

This self portrait, painted before Van Gogh's move to Paris, is typical of his earlier paintings. The dark earthy tones, which are characteristic of traditional Dutch painting, are used to create an image of humble dignity.

1887
Art Institute of Chicago

In Paris, Van Gogh was influenced by the artist Georges Seurat who devised a painting technique called Pointillism. Seurat painted in tiny dots of unmixed colours which fuse into subtle hues as the spectator steps back to take in the image. However, without Seurat's patient and analytical approach to the technique, Van Gogh's attempt at pointillism in this self portrait is clumsy, but it does start to reveal the main element of his his true genius - a natural instinct for the expressive and emotional power of colour.

1887
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

This portrait displays the influence of Impressionism on Van Gogh's use of colour and brushwork.

The Impressionists tried to create the colour of natural light by only using pure hues as seen in the colours of the rainbow. They banished tertiary colours (pre-mixed browns, blacks and greys) from their paintings. Instead, they replaced them with unmixed dashes of pure colour. For example, Van Gogh's jacket is painted with red and green brushstrokes which fuse together on the canvas. Some areas mix naturally to form a brown, but some still retain dashes of the pure unmixed colours. These mix optically in the eye of the spectator and increase the vitality of the colour.

The vigour of Van Gogh's brushwork heightens the expressive qualities of this self-portrait. The physical texture of his brushstrokes helps to convey the roughness of his tweed jacket and the softness of his felt hat.

1888
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

In this work we have a perfect balance between the vitality of Van Gogh's colour and the energy of his brushwork.

His confidence and control of colour is approaching its peak. The tones of the face form a traditional, realistic portrait. But the colours used to create these tones explode like a firework of red, orange, yellow, white, lilac, sky blue and green brushstrokes.

He harnesses the energy of his brushstrokes by controlling their rhythm, size and direction. They radiate outwards from his eyes and eventually form a blue and orange aura which encircles his head.

1889
Courtald Institute, London

This self portrait with a bandaged ear is one of two famous versions.

It was Van Gogh's dream to form an artists' colony in Arles with his friend, the painter Paul Gauguin. After Gauguin's arrival it gradually became obvious that their personalities clashed and they could not work together. They frequently quarreled and after one exchange Van Gogh lost his self control and attacked Gauguin. This resulted in the famous incident when Van Gogh, overwhelmed by remorse and depression, cut off the lobe of his ear.

This painting, which was created within two weeks of his breakdown, is most certainly the calm after the storm. He takes a quiet and detached look at himself and expresses a feeling of hope through his bright colours and simplified drawing. A clue to the origin of this bold style is found in the Japanese woodblock print on the wall behind him.

Van Gogh suffered from a nervous condition which caused him to experience extreme mood swings. Although his illness was responsible for his dark periods of depression and eventual death, he also experienced periods of elation when he painted with a unique understanding of the emotional properties of colour and how to use them at their highest pitch. People seem to instinctively recognise this quality when they look at his paintings and they appreciate the great personal price he paid for the masterpieces that he created. This is what makes Van Gogh one of the most popular artists in the history of art.