Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler)

About this artwork

"Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler)" by Vincent van Gogh, created in 1887, is executed in oil on canvas. This paintings belongs to the Metropolitan Museum's European Paintings collection. The work measures 16 x 12 1/2 in. (40.6 x 31.8 cm). The artwork entered the museum's collection through bequest of miss adelaide milton de groot (1876-1967), 1967.

Art Historical Context

Vincent van Gogh painted this intimate self-portrait in 1887 while living in Paris, a pivotal period when he absorbed the vibrant colors and broken brushwork of the Impressionists. Executed in oil on canvas, the small work captures the artist in a straw hat, his gaze direct and thoughtful. Measuring just 16 by 12½ inches, it rewards close looking, revealing the textured layers and lively strokes that would become hallmarks of his mature style. The painting is especially intriguing because it is double-sided; on the reverse appears “The Potato Peeler,” another figure study from the same year. Van Gogh frequently turned to self-portraiture to experiment with technique and expression, and this work shows him bridging his early Dutch realism with the bolder color and energy he developed in France. Today in the Metropolitan Museum’s European Paintings collection, the canvas offers visitors a personal glimpse of the artist at a moment of creative transition. Its bequest by Adelaide Milton de Groot in 1967 ensures that this modest yet powerful image continues to speak across time.

About the Artist

Vincent van Gogh · 1853–1890

Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) stands as one of the most influential figures in Western art history, despite a career spanning merely a decade. Born in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands, to a Protestant pastor's family, van Gogh's path to artistic greatness was anything but conventional. His early adulthood saw him working as an art dealer for Goupil & Cie, a language teacher, and a fervent missiona...