This is a portrait of the Netherlands' most famous nineteenth-century artist, Vincent van Gogh. His piercing eyes seek out the viewer; the portrait is personal and direct. It is painted in short, firm lines using many colours; a style characteristic of Van Gogh's later work. Van Gogh painted this portrait in 1887 when he was living in Paris. He lived there for two years, during which time he became acquainted with the work of the Impressionists and modern artists such as Paul Gauguin and Toulouse-Lautrec. Of the many (around thirty-five) self portraits Van Gogh made, twenty-nine were painted when he was in Paris.