Vincent van Gogh painted over 30 self-portraits between the years 1886 and 1889. Vincent van Gogh's collection of self-portraits places him among the most prolific self-portraitists of all time. Vincent van Gogh used portrait painting as a method of introspection, a method to make money and a method of developing his skills as an artist.
When Van Gogh first began painting he used peasants as models. After this stage, he worked more on experimenting with his use of color in painting landscapes and flowers, primarily because he could not afford to pay models.
Vincent van Gogh explains this in a letter to his sister Wilhelmina van Gogh in 1887,
“Of my own work I think that the picture of peasants eating potatoes
I did in Nuenen is après tout the best I've done. But since then I've had no chance of getting models, though on the other hand I did have the chance to study the colour question. And if I should find models again for my figures later, then I would hope to be able to show that I am after something other than little green landscapes or flowers.”
As Vincent van Gogh struggled to make a living as an artist he became reliant on his brother Theo and the charity of others such as Julien "Père" Tanguy, who ran the paint store that Vincent van Gogh frequented in Paris. With their generosity of money and supplies, Vincent van Gogh continued working as an artist and thought of portrait painting as a practical application of his talent. In a letter to his brother Theo in July of 1888 Vincent van Gogh wrote,
“Besides, I think I have spoken the truth, but if I should succeed in replacing in goods the money spent, I should only be doing my duty. And then, something practical I can do is portrait painting.”
Vincent van Gogh did not have money to pay models to pose for portraits nor did he have many people commissioning him to do portraits, so Vincent van Gogh painted his own portrait. Vincent van Gogh did not see portrait painting as merely a means to an end; Vincent van Gogh also believed that portrait painting would help him develop his skills as an artist. In a letter to his brother Theo dated September 16, 1888, Vincent van Gogh writes about a self-portrait he painted and dedicated to his friend and fellow artist Paul Gauguin,
“The third picture this week is a portrait of myself, almost colourless, in ashen tones against a background of pale veronese green.
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