À propos de l’œuvre
Autoportrait, par Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh · September -October 1887 · Paris
Self-portrait with gray marker, F344Reproduction of oil painting on canvas
Wearing a gray marker, Van Gogh appears three-quarters in front of a streaked blue background. His red face is surrounded by directional touches that extend the contours of the head like a halo.
Look at the work
The face remains fixed while each touch radiates around it
The gray hat cuts the top of the painting with a wide, matte shape. Below, the blue-green eyes, red beard and cheekbones are shaped by short lines which change orientation depending on the volume.
The background is never uniform: blues, oranges and now colder lines intersect there. The long touches of the jacket take up this movement and make the border between model and space almost porous.
Self-portrait with gray felt is an oil on cotton measuring 44.5 × 37.2 cm painted in Paris in September - October 1887. Referenced F344/JH1353, the work is kept at the Van Gogh Museum under number s0016V1962.
Composition, touch and color
Three observations specific to this painting
The Van Gogh Museum presents this portrait as one of the most daring chromatic experiments of the Parisian period. Van Gogh freely adapts the touch of the pointillists: instead of regular dots, he uses oriented and strongly expressive dashes.
The keys draw a halo around the head
Their direction hugs the hat, forehead and beard. This circular movement detaches the face without resorting to a cast shadow or decoration.
The complements intensify the portrait
Blue and orange respond to each other in the background; red and green meet in the beard and eyes. Each color visually reinforces its opposite color.
Aging has changed certain contrasts
The museum indicates that the red pigment has faded: initially purple lines now appear blue, which reduces their opposition to yellow.
Documented benchmarks
Precisely identify the original work
The current museum notice gives the cotton support, the dimensions 44.5 × 37.2 cm and the dating September - October 1887. These data, with F344/JH1353, precisely distinguish this gray marker from the numerous Parisian self-portraits.
A personal response to pointillism
Van Gogh takes up the separation of colors observed among the Neo-Impressionists, but varies the length and direction of each line to follow the shapes.
A picture in which some reds have turned pale
The transformation of the pigment explains why areas designed as purple today appear bluer. Careful reproduction must take into account the visible state of the original.
Oil applied to cotton fabric
The museum does not describe this work as ordinary linen canvas. The light support receives a dense paint, particularly readable in the beard and background.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
The copy must preserve the flexible shape of the felt, the direct gaze, the red-orange beard, the radiance of the keys and the blue-orange and red-green oppositions still visible.
- Gray felt with pink highlights
- Very direct blue-green eyes
- The red beard in short strokes
- The halo of touches around the face
- The gray jacket highlighted in blue
Work sheet
| Title | Self-portrait with gray marker, F344 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Vincent van Gogh (1853 -1890) |
| Date | September - October 1887 |
| Place of creation | Paris |
| Original technique | Oil on cotton |
| Dimensions | 44.5 × 37.2 cm |
| Inventory | F344· JH1353· s0016V1962 |
| Conservation | Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
From order to shipping
In your interior
An intense self-portrait with cold blues and copper accents
Steel blue, taupe gray, red orange, muted green and flesh pink make up a strong presence for a contemporary library, office or living room.
Frequently asked questions
Before ordering
Is this a canvas print?
No. Each reproduction is manually painted in oil on canvas. Brushstrokes and material variations belong to the final result.
How is the visual reference chosen?
The official public domain image of the Van Gogh Museum, 5,613 × 6,813 px, was reduced to 2,472 × 3,000 px and then encoded as a real WebP.
Can I check the result before shipping?
Yes. Photographs of the finished painting are sent to you; you can request alterations before validating the shipment.
Are custom formats possible?
Yes. The format can be adapted to your wall while maintaining the proportions and balance of the original composition.
