Few artists in history have used the self-portrait as a form of expression but also of intense, profound introspection as did Vincent Van Gogh. The Courtauld Gallery, recently reopened to the public after the splendid renovation of its rooms, organized the first ever exhibition. dedicated to this theme and offers the opportunity to see more than half of the total of 35 self-portraits painted by the Dutch artist.
The chronological order allows us to follow Van Gogh’s artistic evolution as well as his psychological state and the visible changes are remarkable, especially bearing in mind that the artist’s entire production is concentrated in the space of just over three years, between 1886 and 1889.
Paris
“The self-portrait with the felt hat” of 1886, painted when Van Gogh was in Paris to experiment after having decided to devote himself to painting, is very far in style and colors from the Self-portrait with a palette of September 1889, one of the last paintings painted by the artist in the psychiatric hospital of Santi-Rémy-de-Provence before he died.
In Provence
Perhaps the most famous painting of all, the self-portrait with bandaged ear of January 1889, which is part of the permanent collection of the Courtauld, also dates back to the period in Provence, painted after his first serious crisis after the quarrel with Paul Gauguin and self-mutilation. ear in despair. Two portraits on display have been reunited for the first time since leaving Van Gogh’s studio over 130 years ago, ending up one at the National Museum in Oslo and one at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. They are a vivid and moving demonstration of the sudden changes in the artist’s state of mind. The first, painted in late August 1889, shows a gloomy and dull man in the grip of the profound crisis that had hit him that summer. The second, painted the first week of September, shows a strong and self-confident man, who proudly holds his palette and brushes in his hand as if to say that painting is his salvation.
In fact, from the asylum Van Gogh had written to his brother Theo asking him to tell the doctors to let him paint because “working on my paintings is absolutely necessary for my recovery”. The only other self-portrait showing him at work is one of the last paintings in Paris before he left for the south of France in February 1888. Van Gogh is not only holding his palette and brushes, but is standing in front of the canvas, ready. to create. The signature and date, in bright red, stand out clearly on the painting.