Self-Portrait

About this work

You see a man with red hair and a short beard, wearing a dark coat and a light shirt. His face is turned slightly to the side, eyes looking straight at you. This small painting was made on a scrap of board instead of canvas. Van Gogh painted it soon after moving to Paris, where he saw bright colors and loose brushwork for the first time. The thick, choppy strokes show him trying out this new style—each dab of paint stands out like tiny bumps on the surface. To see how his brushwork changed later, look up impasto.