Self-portrait

Self-portrait
One of Van Gogh's last self-portraits, painted in Saint-Rémy. The face is almost motionless while the hair, beard, and background ripple with the same curvilinear rhythm; as Orsay puts it, the stillness of the model contrasts with the movement amplified by the curves behind him. It was painted in September 1889, shortly before he left the hospital.

Van Gogh's Last Year