Self-Portrait with Straw Hat, 1887
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
Oil on Pasteboard, 19 X 14 cm
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
(Vincent van Gogh Stichting)
F 294

Van Gogh was his own most important sitter. Because he hoped to become a portrait painter in Paris, he made an especially high number of self-portraits there, thus finding an inexpensive model in his own mirror-image.

He also used this painting to experiment with color, as we can see in the effect of the yellow hat against the blue background, and the range of colors in the jacket, bow-tie and background.