‘A nos amis de Hollande’ (to our friends in Holland) Bernard wrote at the upper left. He meant the family of Andries Bonger, to whom he gave this self-portrait. Bernard belonged to the Nabis, the group of artists around Paul Gauguin, and was friends with Vincent van Gogh and Jan Verkade. He painted his self-portrait in the style called Synthetism or Cloisonnism, featuring simple, clearly delineated shapes and a limited range of colours.