Self-Portrait with Halo

Gauguin painted many self-portraits, but few are as enigmatic as this one. At the time, Gauguin's likeness was described by friends as an "unkind character sketch"—a caricature. Today, it is the subject of intense analysis. Some see the artist casting himself in the role of Satan, others as Christ. Perhaps it is most likely that Gauguin was revealing his concept of the artist as hero, and—almost to challenge his colleagues—of himself, particularly, as a kind of magus, a master who knew that he possessed the power of magic by virtue of talent and genius.