Van Gogh painted 36 self-portraits.
Most of these works date from 1886 to 1889, a concentrated period in which he used his own face as an immediately available model. Painting himself was practical as well as artistic: Van Gogh often lacked the money to hire models, and a mirror allowed him to study facial expression, color, and brushwork repeatedly.
The series traces major changes in his style. Early Paris portraits use darker tones, while later works show the influence of Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism through brighter colors and broken, energetic strokes. His Saint-Rémy portraits, including the National Gallery of Art’s 1889 example, were made after a severe mental-health crisis.
Counts can vary because some sources include drawings, newly discovered or uncertain works, or use “self-portraits” broadly for painted and drawn images. The figure of 36 conventionally refers to the recognized painted self-portraits, making it the expected answer to this quiz question.