Van Gogh self-portrait (1889)

Painting by Vincent van Gogh, musée d'Orsay

Self-portrait

Artist| Vincent van Gogh
Year| 1889
Medium| Oil on canvas
Dimensions| 65 cm × 54 cm (26 in × 21 in)
Location| Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh painted a self-portrait in oil on canvas in September 1889. The work, which may have been Van Gogh's last self-portrait, was painted shortly before he left Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in southern France.[1][2][3] The painting is now at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.[4]

## Painting

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This self-portrait was one of about 32 produced over a 10-year period, and these were an important part of his work as a painter;[1][2] he painted himself because he often lacked the money to pay for models.[5] He took the painting with him to Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, where he showed it to Dr. Paul Gachet, who thought it was "absolutely fanatical".[2][6]

Art historians are divided as to whether this painting or Self-portrait without beard is Van Gogh's final self-portrait. Art historians Ingo F. Walther and Jan Hulsker consider this to be the last, with Hulsker considering that it was painted in Arles following Van Gogh's admission to hospital after mutilating his ear, while Ronald Pickvance thinks Self-portrait without beard was the later painting.[2][7]

Van Gogh sent the picture to his younger brother, the art dealer Theo; an accompanying letter read: "You will need to study [the picture] for a time. I hope you will notice that my facial expressions have become much calmer, although my eyes have the same insecure look as before, or so it appears to me."[8]

Van gogh self portrait detail

Walther and Rainer Metzger consider that "the picture is not a pretty pose nor a realistic record ... [it is] one that has seen too much jeopardy, too much turmoil, to be able to keep its agitation and trembling under control."[9] According to Beckett the dissolving colours and same time turbulent patterns signal a feeling of strain and pressure, symbolising the artist's state of mind, which is under a mental, physical and emotional pressure.[10]

The Musée d'Orsay in Paris, who obtained the picture in 1986,[11] noted that "the model's immobility contrasts with the undulating hair and beard, echoed and amplified in the hallucinatory arabesques of the background."[1]

### The Oslo Self-Portrait (1889)

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The "Oslo self-portrait", (Nasjonalmuseet)

Another self-portrait from 1889, often called the Oslo self-portrait because it is owned by the Nasjonalmuseet in Norway,[12] was authenticated in 2020 by the Van Gogh Museum.[13] This painting, with the artist looking sideways, was painted while the artist was in the asylum in Saint-Rémy and is "unmistakeably" his work. Experts believe it was painted after Van Gogh's letter of 22 August 1889, which indicated that he was still "disturbed" but ready to begin painting again. It was completed prior to his letter of 20 September 1889, in which Van Gogh referred to the self-portrait as "an attempt from when I was ill". [14]

The Museum's report stated that "The Oslo self-portrait depicts someone who is mentally ill; his timid, sideways glance is easily recognisable and is often found in patients suffering from depression and psychosis".[15]

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Vincent Van Gogh: Self-portrait". Musée d'Orsay. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
2. ^ a b c d Walther 2000, p. 74.
3. ^ "Van Goghself-portrait".
4. ^ "Musée d'Orsay: Vincent van Gogh Self-Portrait". www.musee-orsay.fr. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
5. ^ "Vincent's Self-Portraits". Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
6. ^ Denvir 1994, p. 100.
7. ^ Pickvance 1986, p. 130.
8. ^ Walther 2000, p. 72.
9. ^ Walther & Metzger 2000, p. 72.
10. ^ Beckett (1994), p. 273
11. ^ "Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait de l'artiste". Musée d'Orsay. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
12. ^ "Gloomy Van Gogh self-portrait in Oslo gallery confirmed authentic". the Guardian. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
13. ^ "Contested Self-Portrait (1889) in the Nasjonalmuseet Oslo Really is a Van Gogh". Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
14. ^ "Experts Conclude That This Odd Self-Portrait of Vincent van Gogh Giving the Side Eye Really Is by the Dutch Master". Artnet. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020. "an authentic work by the Dutch master. Extensive research conducted by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam ... while he was suffering from psychosis."
15. ^ "Gloomy Van Gogh self-portrait in Oslo gallery confirmed authentic". The Guardian. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.

### Sources

[edit]

* Beckett, Wendy (1994), The Story of Painting, The Essential Guide to the History of Western Art, Dorling Kidersley, ISBN 978-0751301335
* Denvir, Bernard (1994). Vincent: The Complete Self-Portraits. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press. ISBN 978-0-7624-0094-2.
* Pickvance, Ronald (1986). Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers. New York: Abrams. ISBN 0-87099-477-8.
* Walther, Ingo; Metzger, Rainer (2000). Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings. Cologne: Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8228-1215-0.
* Walther, Ingo (2000). Van Gogh. Cologne: Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8228-6322-0.

## See also

[edit]

* Art movement
* Impressionists
* Paul Gauguin
* Portraits of Vincent van Gogh

* v
* t
* e

Vincent van Gogh

General|

* Biography
* List of works
* List of drawings
* Chronology
* The Letters of Vincent van Gogh
* Health
* Auberge Ravoux
* Death
* Nazi looting of artworks by Vincent van Gogh
* Posthumous fame
* Cultural depictions
* Lost Arles sketchbook

Groups of
works|

* Early works (1881–82)
* Portraits (1881–1890)
* Peasant Character Studies (1881–1885)
* Van Gogh's family in his art (1881–1888)
* Sien (1882–83)
* Cottages (1883–1885)
* Water Mill at Gennep (1884)
* Still life paintings, Netherlands (1884–85)
* Old Church Tower at Nuenen (1884–85)
* Amsterdam (1885)
* Wheat Fields (1885–1890)
* Le Moulin de la Galette (1886)
* Still life paintings, Paris (1886–87)
* Montmartre (1886–87)
* Self portraits (1886–1889)
* Outskirts of Paris (1887)
* Asnières (1887)
* Seine (1887)
* Japonaiserie (1887)
* Sunflowers (1887–1889)
* Trees and Undergrowth (1887–1890)
* Copies by Vincent van Gogh (1887–1890)
* Langlois Bridge at Arles (1888)
* Saintes-Maries (1888)
* Boats du Rhône (1888)
* Décoration for the Yellow House (1888)
* The Roulin Family (1888–89)
* Hospital in Arles (1888–89)
* Flowering Orchards (1888–89)
* Almond Blossoms (1888–1890)
* Paintings of Children (1888–1890)
* The Wheat Field (1889)
* Reaper (1889)
* Olive Trees (1889)
* Wheat Fields (1889)
* Butterflies (1889–90)
* Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint-Rémy (1889–90)
* Auvers Double-squares and Squares (1890)
* Lost works by Vincent van Gogh
* Display at Les XX, 1890

Oil paintings|

| 1882|

* Beach at Scheveningen in Stormy Weather
* Girl in White in the Woods
* Lying Cow
* A Girl in the Street, Two Coaches in the Background

|

1883|

* Cows in the Meadow
* Farmhouses Among Trees
* Bulb Fields
* Landscape with a Church at Twilight
* Landscape with Dunes
* Footbridge across a Ditch
* Marshy Landscape
* A Wind-Beaten Tree
* Farm with Stacks of Peat
* Farmhouses in Loosduinen near The Hague at Twilight
* Three Figures near a Canal with Windmill

1884|

* Two Rats
* Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen
* The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen
* Landscape with Pollard Willows
* Cart with Black Ox
* Cart with Red and White Ox
* Lane in Autumn
* Water Mill at Opwetten
* Water Mill at Kollen
* Village at Sunset
* Avenue of Poplars in Autumn
* Avenue of Poplars at Sunset
* Head of an Old Farmer's Wife in a White Hat

1885|

* Still Life with Straw Hat
* The Potato Eaters
* Peasant Woman Digging
* Peasant Woman Digging Up Potatoes
* Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette

1886|

* Vase with Red Poppies
* Vase with White and Red Carnations
* The Kingfisher

1887|

* Poppy Flowers
* Wheat Field with a Lark
* View of Paris from Vincent's Room in the Rue Lepic
* Portrait of Père Tanguy
* A Woman Walking in a Garden
* Imperial Fritillaries in a Copper Vase
* Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin
* Red Cabbages and Garlic

1888|

* Madame Roulin and Her Baby
* Landscape with Snow
* La Mousmé
* The Zouave
* Still Life: Vase with Oleanders
* The Night Café
* The Yellow House
* Van Gogh's Chair
* Café Terrace at Night
* Starry Night Over the Rhône
* Portrait of the Artist's Mother
* Bedroom in Arles
* The Painter on the Road to Tarascon
* Les Alyscamps
* A Lane in the Public Garden at Arles
* Falling Autumn Leaves
* L'Arlésienne
* The Red Vineyard
* Memory of the Garden at Etten (Ladies of Arles)
* Les Arènes
* Interior of a Restaurant in Arles
* A Lane near Arles
* Arles: View from the Wheat Fields
* Sunset at Montmajour
* Farmhouse in Provence
* Orchard with Cypresses

1889|

* Valley with Ploughman Seen from Above
* View of Arles, Flowering Orchards
* Portrait of Doctor Rey
* Crab on its Back
* Two Crabs
* Irises
* Lilac Bush
* The Starry Night
* The Gardener
* Self-portrait (1889)
* Self-portrait without beard
* Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear
* A Meadow in the Mountains: Le Mas de Saint-Paul
* A Road at Saint-Remy with Female Figure
* Enclosed Field with Peasant
* Rain
* Cypresses
* Wheat Field with Cypresses
* Green Wheat Field with Cypress
* The Diggers
* The Ravine of the Peyroulets
* Ivy
* View of the Asylum and Chapel of Saint-Rémy
* The Large Plane Trees
* The Mulberry Tree

1890|

* The Siesta
* Road with Cypress and Star
* At Eternity's Gate
* Thatched Cottages and Houses
* Portrait of Dr. Gachet
* Doctor Gachet's Garden in Auvers
* Houses at Auvers
* White House at Night
* Landscape with a Carriage and a Train
* Girl in White
* The Church at Auvers
* Daubigny's Garden
* Farms near Auvers
* The Cows
* The Town Hall at Auvers
* Blossoming Chestnut Branches
* Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat
* Still Life: Vase with Pink Roses
* Portrait of Adeline Ravoux
* Plain near Auvers
* Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds
* Wheatfield with Crows
* Prisoners' Round (after Gustave Doré)
* Tree Roots
* Landscape at Auvers in the Rain
* Poppy Field

Watercolours|

* Boy Cutting Grass with a Sickle (1881)
* Meadows near Rijswijk and the Schenkweg (1882)
* The 'Laakmolen' near The Hague (1882)
* Church Pew with Worshippers (1882)
* Woman on Her Deathbed (1883)
* Landscape with Trees (1883)
* Peatery in Drenthe (1883)
* Landscape with Wheelbarrow (1883)
* Drawbridge in Nieuw-Amsterdam (1883)
* Breton Women (1888)
* Old Vineyard with Peasant Woman (1890)

Drawings|

* 87 Hackford Road (1873 or 1874)
* Marsh with Water Lilies (1881)
* Sorrow (1882)
* Portrait of a Man in a Top Hat (1882)
* Torso of Venus and a Landscape (1887)
* Head of a Girl (1888)

Museums|

* Van Gogh Museum
* Van Gogh House (Drenthe)
* Maison Van Gogh
* Kröller-Müller Museum
* Monastery of Saint-Paul de Mausole
* Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles

Portrayals|

* Vincent van Gogh (1886 painting)
* Portrait of Vincent van Gogh (1887)
* The Painter of Sunflowers (1888 painting)
* Lust for Life (1934 novel)
* Van Gogh (1948 film)
* Lust for Life (1956 film)
* Van Gogh (1956 opera)
* Vincent and Theo van Gogh (1963 statue)
* "Vincent" (1971 song)
* Vincent (1987 film)
* Vincent & Theo (1990 film)
* Vincent and Me (1990 film)
* Dreams (1990 film)
* Vincent (1990 opera)
* Van Gogh (1991 film)
* Vincent in Brixton (2003 play)
* The Yellow House (2007 film)
* "Vincent and the Doctor" (2010 TV episode)
* Loving Vincent (2017 film)
* At Eternity's Gate (2018 film)

Family|

* Theo van Gogh (brother)
* Wil van Gogh (sister)
* Cor van Gogh (brother)
* Johanna van Gogh-Bonger
* Andries Bonger
* Theo van Gogh (film director)
* Anton Mauve
* Johannes Stricker

Cataloguers|

* Jacob Baart de la Faille (1928 and 1970; "F")
* Jan Hulsker (1978, revised 1989; "JH")

Related|

* The Vincent Award
* Van Gogh immersive experience

* v
* t
* e

Musée d'Orsay

Building

* Gare d'Orsay

Paintings

| French|

* Baader: Remorse
* Bartholomé: In the Conservatory
* Bastien-Lepage: Haymaking
* Bazille: The Family Reunion – The Improvised Field Hospital – The Pink Dress – Bazille's Studio
* Belly: Pilgrims going to Mecca
* Bonnard: Woman with a Cat
* Bonheur: Ploughing in the Nivernais
* Bouguereau: The Birth of Venus – La Danse – Dante and Virgil – Equality Before Death – Les Oréades
* Boulanger: Répétition du "Joueur de flûte" et de "La femme de Diomède" chez le prince Napoléon
* Bracquemond: The Lady in White – Three Women with Parasols
* Cabanel: The Birth of Venus
* Caillebotte: Les raboteurs de parquet – Vue de toits (Effet de neige)
* Cézanne: The Hanged Man's House – The Card Players – Portrait of Gustave Geffroy
* Chassériau: Arab Chiefs Challenging each other to Single Combat under the Ramparts of a City
* de Chavannes: The Poor Fisherman – The Turtle Seller
* Courbet: A Burial at Ornans – L'Origine du monde – The Painter's Studio – Le ruisseau noir – The Wounded Man
* Couture: The Romans in their Decadence
* Daubigny: The Harvest
* Daumier: The Laundress – The Republic
* Degas: L'Absinthe – The Bellelli Family – Café-Concert at Les Ambassadeurs (1885) – Les Choristes – The Orchestra at the Opera – Portraits at the Stock Exchange – The Tub
* Dehodencq: Boabdil's Farewell to Granada
* Delacroix: Arab Horses Fighting in a Stable
* Denis: Homage to Cézanne
* Detaille: The Dream
* Doré: The Enigma
* Fantin-Latour: Around the Piano – The Corner of the Table – Homage to Delacroix – A Studio at Les Batignolles
* Gauguin: Arearea – The Beautiful Angel – Breton Peasant Women – The Schuffenecker Family – Self-Portrait in a Hat – Self-Portrait with the Yellow Christ – Tahitian Women on the Beach – Vairumati
* Gérôme: The Cock Fight – Jerusalem – Reception of the Grand Condé at Versailles
* Gervex: A Session of the Painting Jury
* Glaize: The Gallic Women: Episode from the Roman Invasion
* Ingres: The Source
* Laurens: The Excommunication of Robert the Pious
* Lefebvre: The Truth
* Luce: The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame
* Manet: The Balcony – Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets – Blonde Woman with Bare Breasts – Bullfight – Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe – Flowers in a Crystal Vase – The Fifer – Madame Manet at the Piano – Olympia – The Port of Boulogne by Moonlight – Portrait of Clemenceau – Portrait of Emile Zola – Portrait of Marguerite de Conflans [1] – Portrait of Monsieur and Madame Manet – Portrait of Stéphane Mallarmé – The Reading – A Sprig of Asparagus – The Waitress
* Matisse: Luxe, Calme et Volupté
* Meissonier: French Campaign, 1814 – The Siege of Paris
* Millet: The Angelus – The Gleaners – Shepherdess with her Flock – The Winnower
* Monet: The Artist's Garden at Giverny – A Cart on the Snowy Road at Honfleur – Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe – The Magpie – Regatta at Argenteuil – Resting Under a Lilac Bush – The Road in Front of Saint-Simeon Farm in Winter – Women in the Garden
* Moreau: The Apparition
* Morisot: The Cradle
* Motte: The Fiancée of Belus
* Ottmann: The Luxembourg Station in Brussels
* Regnault: Summary Execution under the Moorish Kings of Granada
* Renoir: Bal du moulin de la Galette – The Bathers – Dance in the City – Dance in the Country – Frédéric Bazille at his Easel – Girls at the Piano – Portrait of the Painter Claude Monet – Portrait of William Sisley – The Swing
* Rousseau: The Snake Charmer
* Sérusier: The Talisman
* Seurat: The Circus
* Sisley: Avenue of Poplars near Moret-sur-Loing – The Canal du Loing – The Canal Saint-Martin – Chemin de la Machine, Louveciennes – The Forge at Marly-le-Roi – Regatta at Molesey near Hampton Court – Resting by a Stream at the Edge of the Wood – Rue de la Chaussée in Argenteuil – View of the Canal Saint-Martin – The Village of Voisins
* Toulouse-Lautrec: Le Lit – La Toilette

|

American|

* Harrison: Solitude
* Tanner: The Resurrection of Lazarus
* Whistler: Whistler's Mother

Belgian|

* van Rysselberghe: Sailboats and Estuary
* Stevens: The Bath – What is Called Vagrancy

British|

* Burne-Jones: The Wheel of Fortune

Dutch|

* Van Gogh: L'Arlésienne – Bedroom in Arles (3rd version) – The Church at Auvers – Starry Night Over the Rhône – Portrait of Dr. Gachet (2nd version) – Doctor Gachet's Garden in Auvers – Imperial Fritillaries in a Copper Vase – Self-portrait

Finnish|

* Edelfelt: Pasteur's portrait by Edelfelt

Italian|

* Boldini: Madame Charles Max – Portrait of Robert de Montesquiou

Spanish|

* Sorolla: The Return from Fishing: Hauling the Boat

Sculptures

| French|

* Barrias: Nature Unveiling Herself Before Science
* Clésinger: Woman Bitten by a Serpent
* Claudel: The Mature Age
* Delaplanche: Virgin with a Lily
* Jacquemart: Rhinocéros
* Gauguin: Objet décoratif carré avec dieux tahitiens – Oviri

|

* [1] On display at the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse

Authority control databases |

* Joconde

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