Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh, the Dutch post-impressionist, is one of the most well known painters of all time. I won’t go into his history, since it is commonly known amongst most people who are familiar with his work. He was a master at capturing light and his distinctive use of heavy brush strokes to capture color and movement make his work instantly identifiable.
Throughout his artistic career, Van Gogh did many self-portraits. These have become some of his most well known paintings. It is especially interesting to see the evolution of the artist, physically and stylistically through his self portraits. I have always been a huge fan of Van Gogh’s work, especially his self-portraits, which always appear to be so emotional and raw, never glamorized or idealized.

I have always admired Van Gogh’s desire and ability to capture the moment in his paintings with quick heavy brushstrokes, and his grasp of the use of light in his work. The impressionists and post-impressionists have long played a significant role in inspiring my own work. Since I started working on my own self-portait, I have been told by several people that it reminds them of Van Gogh’s self-portraits. While this is unintentional, I am flattered to be compared to such an incredibly talented artist. I may attempt to stylize my own portrait to mimic those of the great master.