Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler)
1887
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
16 x 12 1/2 in. (40.6 x 31.8 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot (1876-1967), 1967
Accession Number
67.187.70a
Tags
About this artwork
"Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler)" by Vincent van Gogh, created in 1887, is executed in oil on canvas. This paintings belongs to the Metropolitan Museum's European Paintings collection. The work measures 16 x 12 1/2 in. (40.6 x 31.8 cm). The artwork entered the museum's collection through bequest of miss adelaide milton de groot (1876-1967), 1967.
Art Historical Context
Vincent van Gogh painted this intimate self-portrait in 1887 while living in Paris, a pivotal period when he absorbed the vibrant colors and broken brushwork of the Impressionists. Executed in oil on canvas, the small work captures the artist in a straw hat, his gaze direct and thoughtful. Measuring just 16 by 12½ inches, it rewards close looking, revealing the textured layers and lively strokes that would become hallmarks of his mature style. The painting is especially intriguing because it is double-sided; on the reverse appears “The Potato Peeler,” another figure study from the same year. ...
About the Artist
Vincent van Gogh · 1853–1890
Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) stands as one of the most influential figures in Western art history, despite a career spanning merely a decade. Born in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands, to a Protestant pastor's family, van Gogh's path to artistic greatness was anything but conventional. His early adulthood saw him working as an art dealer for Goupil & Cie, a language teacher, and a fervent missiona...