Vincent van Gogh
On this day in 1853 one of the most famous artists in the world, for sure the most legendary one, was born. Although his career was brief, lasting 10 years, Vincent van Gogh proved to be an exceptionally prolific and innovative artist. Like his predecessor and idol, Rembrandt van Rijn, Van Gogh loved self-portraiture. He painted no fewer than 36 self-portraits. The painting we present today is one of the very last self-portraits the artist painted.
Van Gogh painted during his voluntary internment at the asylum. In a letter to his brother Theo written in early September 1889, he wrote:
"They say—and I am very willing to believe it—that it is difficult to know yourself—but it isn't easy to paint yourself either. So I am working on two portraits of myself at this moment—for want of another model—because it is more than time I did a little figure work. One I began the day I got up; I was thin and pale as a ghost. It is dark violet–blue and the head whitish with yellow hair, so it has a color effect. But since then I have begun another one, three-quarter length on a light background."
Here Van Gogh portrayed himself at work, dressed in his artist's smock with his palette and brushes in hand. The dynamic brushwork lends an uncommon immediacy and expressiveness to his portrayal. According to Van Gogh himself, this painting was the one that captured his "true character."
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P.S. Read about how art saved his life! It's an alternative look at the mental health of Vincent van Gogh.