Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait, 1889

Gauguin's friends called the self-portrait on the left an unkind character sketch—a caricature. Like a political cartoonist, Gauguin suggests what he looks like, showing only his head and one hand. He fills in the rest of the panel with symbols. Make a list of the different symbols—both objects and colors—in the painting. If you have an idea what they might symbolize, note it also; for example, snake=evil.

A strange mix? Experts continue to debate what Gauguin intended with these contradictory symbols. He seems to be dealing in opposites: good and evil, heaven and hell. He places expanses of flat, intense color—red and yellow—next to each other. He frames his floating head with stylized, arching green stems and square flowers. Is this the Garden of Eden . . . or . . . ?

Is Gauguin telling us he is part angel, part devil? Perhaps he's showing himself as a sort of magician—an artist with tremendous creative power who can conjure identities through his artistry.

Another unusual fact about this work: Gauguin painted it on the wooden door of an inn in northwestern France. All in all, it is a very startling and thought-provoking portrait.

Is this the same Gauguin? Gauguin painted this more conventional self-portrait (given to fellow artist, Eugène Carrière) around the same time. It focuses in on the artist's head and shoulders—all connected together the way they should be! Gauguin wears a comfortable sweater and jacket and seems relaxed as he looks out at us, without the "evil eye" seen in the other painting. He places himself in a room with a pleasant view of soft mountains through the window—unlike the flat, confusing space of the first self-portrait. Do you find anything unusual about this picture of Gauguin? Click on the painting to see what happens when the colors change.
		Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait Dedicated to Carrière, 1888 or 1889

		What happens when the green in the painting fades to flesh tones? How does it change your response to Gauguin in this self-portrait?

While these two self-portraits differ in many ways, they both show the unusual way Gauguin used color to express emotion and capture the inner self.