Self-Portrait
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Paris, July-August 1887
oil on canvas, 44.5 cm x 33.6 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
During his time in Paris (1886-1888), Van Gogh painted more than 20 self-portraits. He probably had very little money for models. That led him to take himself as an object of study. Here he portrays himself as an artist in his blue smock-frock. This was what he wore when painting.
Van Gogh painted this on the back of a Study for ‘The Potato Eaters’, which he had made earlier in Nuenen (NL). By doing that, he avoided the costs not only of a model but also of expensive canvas.
