Autorretrato de Gauguin

 Gauguin painted many self-portraits, but few are as enigmatic as this one. This “Self–Portrait,” painted on a cupboard door, is one of his most important and radical paintings. 

At the time, friends described Gauguin’s likeness as an “unkind character sketch”—a caricature. Today, it is the subject of intense analysis. Some see the artist casting himself in the role of Satan, others as Christ. His haloed head and disembodied right hand, a snake inserted between the fingers, float on amorphous zones of yellow and red. What do you make of the imagery present in this picture? 

Paul Gauguin, “Self-Portrait,” 1889, oil on wood, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.150