Description of the picture:
Self-portrait grotesque – Paul Gauguin. 1889. Oil on wood. 79.2×51.3
Paul Gauguin throughout his life more than once performed his own portraits. On them he is depicted as a thoughtful and introverted person. Another mood, the irony is this self-portrait. It was painted in a small village in Le Pudaldo, where the painter slowed down with friends. The hotel owner asked them to paint the walls and furniture. On the oak cabinet door, the master wrote his own, filled with well-known symbols “Self-portrait grotesque”. He conditionally divided the work into two color zones devoid of shades – red, meaning love and passion, and yellow, alluding to the divine radiance of heavenly forces. The halo above the artist’s head means that he is a saint, but hanging apples and a snake wrapped around Gauguin’s fingers are symbols of his temptation. The painter is at a crossroads: what to choose – vice or virtue? But the smirk on his face clearly indicates the preference of the master, which is confirmed by his further biography."