Self-Portrait (1887)
1887 · Oil on artist's board · Art Institute of Chicago
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About this work
- Artist
- Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
- Year
- 1887
- Medium
- Oil on artist's board
- Original size
- 41 × 32.5 cm
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Movement
- Post-Impressionism
Van Gogh looks out over his shoulder with a red beard and a steady green-eyed gaze, the background and jacket broken into short dabs of blue, green, orange and red. He painted it in Paris in the spring of 1887, during the two years he lived with his brother Theo and absorbed the work of the Impressionists and the Pointillists. The dotted technique is borrowed from Seurat and Signac but applied more freely, with strokes that follow the shape of the head. Van Gogh painted more than thirty self-portraits, mostly in Paris, because he could not afford models. This one, on artist's board, has been in the Art Institute of Chicago since 1954 and is among the best known of the series.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A small board of dabbed blues and oranges that works at close range: a study wall, reading corner or beside a desk at 12×16 or 18×24, black frame, no mat. Hang it with the grey-felt-hat portrait for a pair.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Post-Impressionism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1887)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- intimate
- Rooms
- study or library, home office, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 12×16. Prints at 12×16, 18×24, 24×32 in — 12×16 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 18×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×32 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Self-Portrait in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Self-Portrait painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
