Portrait of a One-Eyed Man

This portrait, painted at Saint-Rémy in 1889, depicts a man with a damaged or missing eye — almost certainly one of the asylum residents or attendants Van Gogh encountered during his stay. It belongs to a group of probing character studies Van Gogh made while confined, when his access to models was limited to those around him in the institution. Rather than avoiding the subject's physical difference, Van Gogh confronts it directly, approaching the man with the same unflinching attention he brought to all his sitters.

The heavy impasto around the collar and jacket contrasts with the smoother treatment of the face, drawing attention upward to the eyes. The palette is subdued relative to many Saint-Rémy works, using earthy browns and greens.