Vincent van Gogh
Arles, November 1888
Reworked in January 1889
Oil paint on canvas
Van Gogh’s painting of a rustic wooden chair in his house in Arles, with the artist’s pipe and tobacco pouch on the seat, has long been seen as a symbolic self-portrait. It was painted as a pair to Gauguin’s Chair (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam), which depicts the walnut armchair used by the artist Paul Gauguin when he was living with Van Gogh. In contrast to Gauguin’s more refined seat, Van Gogh’s straw-bottomed chair, plain and humble, expresses the painter ‘s long affinity with a peasant way of life. This work conveys as much about Van Gogh’s character and artistic identity as any of the self-portraits he made during his short career.