Musée d’Orsay · 1890
Portrait of the Artist with the Yellow Christ
Paul Gauguin
Gauguin paints himself sandwiched between two of his own artworks — his painting The Yellow Christ and a strange ceramic self-portrait jug — creating a triple self-portrait just before leaving for Tahiti, at a low point when his wife had left and his art remained widely misunderstood.
Why it matters
Gauguin paints himself sandwiched between two of his own artworks — his painting The Yellow Christ and a strange ceramic self-portrait jug — creating a triple self-portrait just before leaving for Tahiti, at a low point when his wife had left and his art remained widely misunderstood.
Look closer
Notice the intense, direct stare Gauguin gives himself — painted while broke and struggling for recognition, this is less a likeness than a declaration of stubborn artistic purpose.
Gauguin often used images of Christ as a stand-in for his own suffering and sacrifice as an artist — this painting is essentially three self-portraits in one.
Value context
ELYIO places this work in an indicative editorial context of €10–20 million.
The museum work is not for sale. This is ELYIO indicative context—not an appraisal, insurance value or offer.