Vincent van Gogh often chose to paint himself, noting in a letter to his brother Theo that he did so “for want of a better model.” Van Gogh ultimately gave this particular self portrait to his friend, the French artist and author Émile Bernard. 

Bernard cherished van Gogh’s Self Portrait, including it in the background of his own self portrait in 1892 and later resisting the need to sell the work, explaining, “I’m attached to it as much as a souvenir of friendship as I am as a painting.” 

Vincent van Gogh’s Self Portrait is on view as part of Humble and Human: An Exhibition in Honor of Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. through Sunday, May 26, 2019.