Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat by Van Gough

Vincent van Gogh painted many self-portraits throughout his career. In the last five years of his life Van Gogh painted thirty seven self portraits.

In this self-portrait, where he is wearing a straw hat, his technique of using and blending colors is evident. Short brush strokes, characteristics in his paintings, are readily apparent.

Self-Portrait with a Straw was probably painted toward the end of van Gogh’s two year stay in Paris, from March 1886 to February 1888, not long before he departed to live and work in the Provencal city of Arles. During this period van Gogh experimented with color theory, brushstroke and a variety of techniques then popular in Paris.
Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat by Van Gough