Van Gogh: The Face in the Mirror

June 2014 - George T. M. Shackelford, deputy director, Kimbell Art Museum. In this lecture recorded on February 2, 2014, at the National Gallery of Art, George Shackelford discusses Vincent van Gogh's remarkable portraits of himself and others—beginning with his earliest drawings from 1880 after his move to Brussels to his last paintings, completed in 1889. Using Van Gogh's letters in context, Shackelford describes the artist's desire to analyze and fix his own image. He argues that Van Gogh put more of himself, his feelings, and his thoughts into his work than any other artist of the 19th century. Ultimately, Shackelford concludes that Van Gogh's "whole art is that mirror on himself."