Paul Gauguin Self-Portrait: Compare and Contrast with Van Gogh’s

Gauguin, Self Portrait, 1889, NGA

In contrast to Van Gogh’s self-portrait, Paul Gauguin’s self-portrait, also painted in 1889 and titled Self Portrait, uses bright colors and playful objects, making a traditional subject, like a self-portrait, untraditional. Even though both artists use the same medium, oil, they represent themselves in different ways, showcasing their individual painting styles. While Van Gogh primarily uses brushstroke and color to express a forlorn emotion, Gauguin’s self portrait is more colorful and whimsical, showing his confidence in his painting and himself. By not portraying himself as realistically as Van Gogh, Gauguin breaks away from the traditional self-portraits of the past. His painting style is more lively, showing that he does not take himself as seriously especially with the addition of the halo over his head.

Unlike Van Gogh, who paints part of his upper body and his head, Gauguin’s head pops over a yellow object representing his torso, contrasting with the painting’s bright red background. Behind the right side of his head, a branch with apples hangs. Perhaps these apples above Gauguin symbolize temptation, relating to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Unlike Adam and Eve, he seems unaffected by the fruit as he looks away. Gauguin has not yet been seduced by the snake in his palm because he still has his halo. The setup of these two apples is similar to a stem of two cherries, rather than an apple tree. The usage of fruit serves as an abstract connection to nature. In addition, the flat planes of color and strong outlines seen in this painting are characteristics of synthetism, a style that emerges after Impressionism.

Despite their stylistic differences, the strong association between Gauguin and Van Gogh is illuminated through their paintings’ location and similar methods of display. In the National Gallery of Art, the two self-portraits frame the sides of an archway. Gauguin’s painting is on the left while Van Gogh’s is on the right. The room the paintings are in is primarily filled with Gauguin’s work, along with a few of Van Gogh’s paintings as well. The works are hung similarly, both in ornate gold frames relatively low on the wall. Despite their complementary ways of being displayed, Gauguin’s painting seems to overshadow Van Gogh’s because more people stopped and looked at it. This could be attributed to things like size and color especially its vivid palette of yellows, reds and greens. Gauguin’s painting is larger and brighter while Van Gogh’s painting seems to blend in more with the neutral walls of the gallery. Because Van Gogh’s painting is less dynamic than Gauguin’s, it would be difficult to make it standout because of its somber colors. Without the archway separating the two paintings, Van Gogh’s painting would have been overshadowed even more.

*Picture: http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg82/gg82-46625.html