In 1886, at age thirty-two, Van Gogh arrived in Paris "not even know[ing] what the Impressionists were." By the time he left, two years later, he had cast off the muddy palette and coarse brushwork that had characterized his earlier efforts and embraced the latest developments in painting. Here he demonstrates his awareness of Neo-Impressionist technique and color theory, using the back of a Dutch peasant study he had taken with him to Paris.

Van Gogh produced more than twenty self-portraits during his Parisian sojourn. Short of funds but determined nevertheless to hone his skills as a figure painter, he became his own best sitter: "I deliberately bought a good mirror so if I lacked a model I could work from my own likeness."

private collection, Asnières (possibly comtesse Clara Levaillant de La Boissière and her daughter Eugénie Jeanne Levaillant de La Boissière, Asnières, later elsewhere), gift of the artist ca. 1887–88; sold by 1927, reportedly through an intermediary, to Charpentier; [Galerie Charpentier, Paris, until 1927; sold through Bogdanoff to Bammann]; [Galerie Hans Bammann, Düsseldorf, from 1927; cat., 1927, ill.]; [Justin K. Thannhauser, Berlin and New York]; Adelaide Milton de Groot, New York (by 1936–d. 1967; on loan to MMA, 1936)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh: Paintings and Drawings," October 21, 1949–January 15, 1950, no. 49A (as "Portrait of the Artist," lent by Adelaide Milton de Groot, New York).

New York. Perls Galleries. "Masterpieces from the Collection of Adelaide Milton de Groot," April 14–May 3, 1958, no. 12 (as "Portrait de l'Artiste").

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Portrait of the Artist," January 18–March 7, 1972, no. 27 (as "Portrait of the Artist").

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh as Critic and Self-Critic," October 30, 1973–January 6, 1974, no. 1.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Impressionism: A Centenary Exhibition," December 12, 1974–February 10, 1975, not in catalogue.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh in Arles," October 18–December 30, 1984, no. 1 (as "Self-Portrait").

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings," October 12–December 31, 2005, not in catalogue.

New York. Neue Galerie. "Van Gogh and Expressionism," March 23–July 2, 2007, no. 74.

Alte Meister: Deutsche und Französische Kunst des 19. Jahrhunderts. Düsseldorf, 1927, unpaginated, ill., mentions authentications by Meier-Graefe and La Faille.

J.-B. de La Faille. "Unbekannte Bilder von Vincent van Gogh." Der Cicerone 19 (February 1927), pp. 101–2, ill., dates it Paris 1887; states that it is at the Kunsthandlung Hans Bammann, Düsseldorf.

J.-B. de La Faille. L'Oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh: Catalogue Raisonné. Paris, 1928, vol. 1, pp. 102–3, no. 365; vol. 2, pl. C [100], states that it was in a private collection, Russia, before going to the Hans Bammann Gallery in Düsseldorf.

Ludwig Thormaelen. Letter to Hans Bammann. April 6, 1932 [see Ref. Dorn and Feilchenfeldt 1993], writes that there is no evidence against the attribution to Van Gogh.

Harry B. Wehle. "A Loan of Paintings." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 31 (October 1936), p. 209, notes that this picture is currently on view in the MMA galleries, lent by an anonymous collector.

J.-B. de La Faille. Vincent van Gogh. London, [1939], pp. 296, 559, 580, 587, no. 409, ill., dates it to the Paris period.

Harry B. Wehle. "The de Groot Collection." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 6 (June 1948), p. 269, ill., dates it Paris 1886 or 1887.

Katharina Bromig-Kolleritz von Novisancz. "Die Selbstbildnisse Vincent van Goghs: Versuch einer kunsthistorischen Erfassung der Darstellungen." PhD diss., Universität München, 1955, p. 102 [see Ref. Erpel 1963], dates it fall 1886.

A.-M. Hammacher in Van Gogh Self-Portraits. Exh. cat., Marlborough Fine Art Ltd. London, [1960], unpaginated, fig. e, states that the self-portraits in a straw hat probably all date from the summer of 1887; describes the visible influence of Seurat and Signac, and mentions that the presence of the straw hat may be related to Van Gogh's admiration for Monticelli.

Fritz Erpel. Die Selbstbildnisse Vincent van Goghs. Berlin, 1963, pp. 14, 16–17, 55, no. 15, ill. [English ed., "Van Gogh: The Self-Portraits," trans. Doris Edwards, Greenwich, Conn., [1969], pp. 19, 20, 56, no. 15, ill.], believes it could have been painted later than fall 1886, when Bromig-Kolleritz [see Ref. 1955] dates it.

Paolo Lecaldano. "Da Etten a Parigi." L'opera pittorica completa di Van Gogh e i suoi nessi grafici. 1, repr. [1st ed., 1966]. Milan, 1977, pp. 100, 119, no. 463, ill., dates it late 1887.

J.-B. de La Faille. The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings. Amsterdam, 1970, pp. 170–71, 625, no. F365 verso, ill., dates it Paris 1887; substitutes the Charpentier Art Gallery, Paris, for the unknown Russian collector formerly included in the early provenance of the picture [see Ref. La Faille 1928], since this individual acted for the Charpentier Gallery.

John Walsh Jr. Portrait of the Artist. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1972, p. 16, no. 27, dates it about 1886–88.

Matthias Arnold. "Duktus und Bildform bei Vincent van Gogh." PhD diss., Ruprecht-Karl University, Heidelberg, 1973, p. 188 n. 227.

Anthony M. Clark in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Notable Acquisitions, 1965–1975. New York, 1975, p. 86, ill., dates it 1886.

Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov Universiteit Utrecht. Vincent van Gogh: His Paris Period, 1886–1888. Utrecht, 1976, pp. 104, 125 n. 51, p. 226.

Jan Hulsker. The Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches. [1st ed., Amsterdam, 1977]. New York, 1980, pp. 145, 300, 302, 304–5, no. 1354, ill., compares it with the artist's "Self-Portrait with Gray Felt Hat" (F344; Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam), calling it "a preliminary study for . . . or a less masterly repetition of" the Amsterdam painting.

Ronald Pickvance. Van Gogh in Arles. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1984, pp. 33–35, no. 1, ill. in color (overall and detail).

Pascal Bonafoux. Van Gogh par Vincent. Paris, 1986, p. 189, colorpl. 23 [English ed., "Van Gogh Self Portraits," trans. Daniel Simon, Secaucus, N.J., 1989], dates it 1887.

Gary Tinterow et al. "Modern Europe." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 8, New York, 1987, pp. 10, 60–61, colorpl. 40.

Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov in Van Gogh à Paris. Exh. cat., Paris. Paris, 1988, p. 116.

Glenn Collins. "Is It or Isn't It? A Van Gogh Languishes in Limbo." New York Times (July 8, 1990), pp. H1, H31, ill. pp. H1 and H31, outlines Feilchenfeldt's doubts about the authenticity of the self-portrait, based on the provenance and style of the picture, and also discusses the Museum's response to this matter.

Anne Reich. "Jedermann weiss, dass es da noch Zeitbomben gibt." Züri Woche (July 26, 1990), p. 37, ill., publishes an interview with Feilchenfeldt, in which he reiterates his doubts about the authenticity of the picture.

Roland Dorn and Walter Feilchenfeldt in "Genuine or Fake?—On the History and Problems of Van Gogh Connoisseurship." The Mythology of Vincent van Gogh. English ed. Tokyo, 1993, p. 296, fig. 188, illustrate it as "attributed to Van Gogh"; discuss it with three other self-portraits (F528, F268, F178v), deciding that none of them "really fits into Van Gogh's production," and adding that they lack the "inner self-control" evident in all of Van Gogh's self-portraits; believe that the only authentic self-portraits painted on the reverse of earlier works are a series of five (F179v, F61v, F77v, F109v, F269v) all dating from the same period, of a uniform format and style, and made as experiments in the position of the head.

Matthias Arnold. Vincent van Gogh: Werk und Wirkung. Munich, 1995, pp. 770–71.

Bernard Denvir. Vincent: A Complete Portrait. London, 1995, pp. 64–65, ill. (color).

Klaus Herding in Ausstieg aus dem Bild. Hamburg, 1996, p. 150 n. 20, dates it to winter 1887–88 in Paris; compares the circular brushstrokes around the head to those in "Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat" (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum), painted in the same period; attributes the brushstrokes to the influence of Millet and Seurat.

Jan Hulsker. The New Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches. rev. ed. Amsterdam, 1996, pp. 144, 262, 300, 302, 304, no. 1354, ill. p. 305.

Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov. "'I Shall Grow in the Tempest': Van Gogh 100 Years Later." Van Gogh 100. Westport, Conn., 1996, p. 16 n. 4, suggests it as one possibility for the self-portrait sold by Theo in October 1888 to the London dealers Sully and Lori.

Martin Bailey. "Cent Van Gogh remis en question." Journal des arts no. 39 (May 30, 1997), pp. 13–14, 25, ill. in color (overall and detail), discusses Feilchenfeldt's doubts concerning the authenticity of both sides of the painting, as well as Stein's defense of the work on stylistic grounds and her argument that the double-sided format is evidence for its authenticity.

Martin Bailey. "At Least Forty-five Van Goghs May Well be Fakes." Art Newspaper 8 (July–August 1997), pp. 21, 23, ill.

Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov. Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers. [New York], 1999, ill. p. 9 (color).

Walter Feilchenfeldt. By Appointment Only: Cézanne, Van Gogh and Some Secrets of Art Dealing. English ed. London, 2006, pp. 116–17, ill. (color), as "Self-Portrait with Straw Hat"; questions its authenticity on grounds of provenance and style, and argues that it is derived from "Self-Portrait with Grey Straw Hat" (F344) in the Van Gogh Museum; states that Thannhauser bought the painting afte.

Laurence Madeline. Van Gogh, Picasso. Paris, 2006, pp. 144, 176 n. 18, dates it 1888; suggests it inspired some of Picasso's male figures.

Jill Lloyd in Van Gogh and Expressionism. Exh. cat., Neue Galerie. Ostfildern, 2007, p. 17, colorpl. 74, compares it to Jawlensky's "Self-Portrait with Top Hat" (about 1904; private collection).

Susan Alyson Stein in Masterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2007, pp. 168, 255, no. 156, ill. (color and black and white).

Van Gogh painted "The Potato Peeler" at Nuenen, The Netherlands, in February–March 1885. Later, in Paris, probably in 1887, he turned the canvas over and painted the "Self-portrait with a Straw Hat" on the other side.