This article refers to self portraits and portraits of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). It includes self-portraits, portraits of him by other artists, and photographs, one of which is dubious. Van Gogh's dozens of self-portraits were an important part of his oeuvre as a painter. Most probably, van Gogh's self-portraits are depicting the face as it appeared in the mirror he used to reproduce his face, i.e. his right side in the image is in reality the left side of his face.
The first self-portrait by van Gogh that survived, is dated 1886.
All the self-portraits executed in Saint-Rémy show the artist's head from the left, i.e. the side with non-mutilated ear.
No self-portraits were executed by van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, during the final weeks of his life.
F208a: Self-Portrait with Dark Felt Hat is amongst the earliest of Vincent's self-portraits. It was discovered late in the family collection and was not exhibited before 1945. Opinions differ about the date and place of its execution. De la Faille thought it painted in Antwerp before 1886, while Hulsker thought it painted in Paris in spring 1886. Hendriks and Tilborgh opt for autumn 1886, based on its resemblance to Vincent's work that winter when he began to embrace Neo-impressionism. X-ray analysis reveals a nude figure study below. Since students did not work from the nude model at Antwerp, this places the painting as executed in Paris where Vincent had enrolled in Fernand Cormon's atelier. There is no other work in Vincent's oeuvre which complements this portrait, which has led to some authors such as Dorn questioning its authenticity. However Hendriks and Tilborgh are satisfied that the painting is consistent with others executed at the beginning and end of Vincent's first year in Paris. Marc Edo Tralbaut, Vincent's principal biographer, especially valorised the portrait, selecting it for the dust-jacket of his biography and stating that Vincent had laid himself bare for the portrait. Tralbaut notes that Vincent painted a number of self-portraits at this time, possibly because of his difficulty in getting models to sit for him. He was in poor health and his teeth were falling out, prompting him to grow a moustache to conceal them. At this time he was wearing city-clothes in an effort to stress his middle-class background as he strove to establish a conventional career for himself as an artist.
F627: This painting may have been van Gogh's last self-portrait, which he gave to his brother.
F525: This painting may have been van Gogh's last self-portrait, which he gave to his mother as a birthday gift. Van Gogh painted Self-Portrait without beard just after he had shaved himself (Hulsker thought it painted in Arles following his admission to hospital after mutilating his ear when he was also shaved, as can be seen in the "bandaged ear" portraits F527 and F529). The painting can be seen in the third (smaller) version of Bedroom in Arles at the Musée d'Orsay. The self-portrait is one of the most expensive paintings of all time, selling for $71.5 million in 1998 in New York. At the time, it was the third (or an inflation-adjusted fourth) most expensive painting ever sold.
F476: Vincent van Gogh, Arles, (1888) gift; to Paul Gauguin, (1888-1897) sold. [Ambroise Vollard, Paris.] [Paul Cassirer Gallery, Berlin.] Dr. Hugo von Tschudi, Berlin, (1906-1911), by descent; to his widow, Angela von Tschudi, Munich (1911-1919), to Neue Staatsgalerie, (1919-1939) sold; [Entartete Kunst sale, 1939, Fischer Gallery, Lucerne,Switzerland, no. 45]; to Maurice Wertheim (1939-1951) bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1951. Notes: Gauguin sold the painting for Fr 300, Hugo von Tschudi bought the painting for the Nationalgalerie, Berlin, with funds from sponsors, but did not submit it to the Kaiser for pre-approval. He took the painting to Munich when he assumed post there.
Scandals
In Nazi Germany, Vincent van Gogh paintings were among those labelled "degenerate art". Works were stolen and/or destroyed by German authorities including the self-portrait dedicated to Paul Gauguin, September 1888, depicted in the black and white picture.
Almost at the same time as when his Catalogue raisonné was published, Jacob Baart de la Faille had to admit that he had included paintings emerging from dubious sources, and of dubious quality. Shortly after, in 1930, De la Faille rejected some thirty odd paintings, which he had originally included in his catalogue - together with a hundred of others he had already excluded: Self-portraits - and Sunflowers - held a prominent place in the set he now rejected. In 1970, the editor's of De la Faille's posthumous manuscript brand marked most of these dubious Self-portraits as forgeries, but could not settle all disputes, at least on one:
The Selfportrait 'a l'éstampe japonais', then in the collection of William Goetz, Los Angeles, was included, though all editors refused its authenticity.
Meanwhile, the authenticity of a second "self-portrait" has been challenged:
The Selfportrait, 'à l'oreille mutilé', acquired in 1910 for the Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo, has been unanimously rejected by recent scholars and technical researchers for decades, until provenance research by staff members now reported pro domo the contrary. The debate is on-going.
Dorn, Roland: Vincent, portraitiste: Bemerkungen zu ein paar heissen Eisen, in: Lukas Gloor, ed.: Van Gogh echt falsch: Zwei Selbstbildnisse der Sammlung Emil Bührle, Zürich 2005, pp. 7 – 21
Hammacher, A. M.: Van Gogh: Selbstbildnisse, Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 1960; 2nd edition 1970
Hendriks, Ella; van Tilborgh, Louis. Vincent Van Gogh Paintings: 2, Lund Humphries 2011, ISBN 978-1848220836
Van Lindert, Juleke, & Van Uitert, Evert: Een eigentijdse expressie: Vincent van Gogh en zijn portretten, Meulenhoff/Landshoff, Amsterdam 1990 ISBN 90-290-8350-6
Pickvance, Ronald. Van Gogh In Saint-Rémy and Auvers (exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Abrams, 1986. ISBN 0-87099-477-8
Tralbaut, Marc Edo. Vincent van Gogh, London 1961, Macmillan, ISBN 033-3109104
Walther, Ingo (2000). Van Gogh. Cologne: Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8228-6322-0.
