Vincent painted himself many times, partly because he could not afford to pay models to sit for him. Here we can see Fauvist influences in what appears immediately to be a fine portrait. When we take note, though, we realise that the flesh tones are mainly non-naturalistic greens and yellows, which make his red hair even more fiery.
Unlike Matisse or Gauguin, he does not rely on flattened colour here, instead filling the canvas with energetic swirls. The brushwork is flowing and lively around the outer areas, becoming more contained toward the centre, most controlled around the highly expressive eyes which fix and return the viewer’s gaze. This technique is a visual reference to self portraits by Rembrandt.
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