Self-Portrait with Straw Hat and Pipe

This 1887 self-portrait combines two of Van Gogh's most recurrent self-portrait attributes — the straw hat, practical wear for outdoor painting sessions, and the pipe, which appears in nearly every stage of his career. Painted in Paris during his intensive period of absorbing Impressionist and Divisionist technique, it is one of several nearly simultaneous self-portraits in which Van Gogh varies his headgear while testing different backgrounds and techniques. The prolific self-examination of the Paris years resulted in some of the most technically experimental portraits he ever made, using himself as a laboratory for chromatic and brushwork experiments.

The background demonstrates Van Gogh's most systematic application of Divisionist theory, with small, distinct strokes of contrasting hues placed in parallel rows. The face and hat are treated more loosely, in keeping with his preference to handle the human subject with greater freedom.