Self-Portrait, Vincent Van Gogh

Art Institute (Chicago) boasts the biggest public collection of Impressionist works outside of France, but only has two works by Vincent Van Gogh on display. His Self-Portrait (1886/1887) is one of them.

The self-guided audio tour is full of content that explains the works by the other Impressionist masters like Monet, Caillebotte and Gauguin, but it only mentions this self-portrait in passing. For some reason, however, this was the work that really captivated my attention. The concept of self-portrait is an interesting one, but just trying to imagine how an Impressionist artist approaches his own self-portrait provokes a weird connundrum involving concepts such as objectivity (he's an Impressionist for Pete's sake!) and intention. Van Gogh's self-portrait is an eerie one; it's almost as if he is sitting on the other side, peering out at the world inside-out through the picture frame... what is going on in his mind?

Brief surfing of the Internet reveals that in a short period of five years upto his death, Van Gogh produced about 30 different self-portraits; this is one of the earlier ones. He started the self-portraits just when he began to experiment with symbolic and expressive values of colors.

Here's a man who was totally disillusioned from his humanity and spirituality (he was first trained for Christian ministry and lived impoverished in a zealous, literal interpretation of Christian teachings), then found 'God' through his art, but continued to live under extreme poverty (he's sold just one work during his lifetime!), suffered bouts of horrific nervous crisis (this left ear is in bandages in his later self-portrait after his infamous attempt to cut it off), then ended his own life under spiritual anguish and fatal depression. Is there any hint of such inner tumult in this piercing gaze?

Spending an afternoon in Art Institute (Chicago) was a much needed break and I came out with a renewed appreciation for Impressionist works. (Well, in truth, I went just two hours before the museum closed, so I didn't have the chance to browse at anything else.)

Note:

Admission to Art Institute is free every Tuesday, and self-guided audio tour rentals are only $2. Avoid going on weekends unless you prefer peeking at works of art between people's heads and shoulders.