Vincent van Gogh
Paris, Spring 1887
Oil paint on artist’s board
This refined self-portrait reveals the importance for Vincent van Gogh of the new pointillist technique pioneered by Georges Seurat. This involved the use of dots of pure colour placed side by side to create a vibrant paint surface. The colours are often opposites on the colour wheel, such as the complementary blues and oranges in the background of this work.
Instead of rigorously following Seurat’s method, however, Van Gogh used colour in an instinctive way, varying his brushstrokes to match his subject matter.