Van Gogh Self Portraits

From the years 1886 through 1889 Van Gogh completed over 30 self-portrait paintings. This is not only an incredible number of self-portraits in general, but to have completed so many in such a short time frame is impressive as well. Despite the fact that these were all painted within the span of just a few years, Van Gogh’s appearance changes dramatically from one to the next. His early self-portraits, much like his earlier paintings, are dark and often in shadows, while his later ones are full of the color and light. While each resembles what we know Van Gogh to look like, his paintings and perception of himself changes. His impressions of himself are honest, not idealized, often conveying looks of pain in his eyes. View some of Van Gogh’s self-portraits below, or view this video compilation of his self-portraits to see them change over the years.