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Follow the changes in the direction of the brushstrokes from the background to the hair, cheek, beard, and jacket.
Painted in Paris in 1887, this small portrait reflects Van Gogh’s encounter with Seurat’s experiments in separate touches of color. Working on prepared artist’s board, he brought that approach to the intimate scale of his own face.
Oil on artist's board, mounted on cradled panel · 41 × 32.5 cm · Art Institute of Chicago · Post-Impressionism
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Details and source
- Museum title
- Self-Portrait
- Artist
- Vincent van Gogh
- Date
- 1887
- Medium
- Oil on artist's board, mounted on cradled panel
- Dimensions
- 41 × 32.5 cm (16 1/8 × 12 13/16 in.); Framed: 61.6 × 53.4 × 8.9 cm (24 1/4 × 21 × 3 1/2 in.)
- Credit line
- Joseph Winterbotham Collection
- Image license
- CC0 1.0 · Public domain
- Museum record
- Art Institute of Chicago
Galler’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.