Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Post-Impressionism, 1853-1890)
Self-Portrait, 1887
Oil on artist’s board, mounted on cradled panel; 41 x 32.5 cm (16 1/8 x 12 13/16 in.). Art Institute Chicago

“What am I in the eyes of most people — a nonentity, an eccentric, or an unpleasant person — somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. All right, then — even if that were absolutely true, then I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. That is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me.”