In this tightly framed half-length self-portrait, Vincent looks directly at the viewer. The forested background, unique among Vincent’s self-portraits, is dominated by sunlit hills under a bright blue sky.

In the protoindustrial context of the time, both nature and the Indigenous subject were considered under threat of extinction. The parallel that Vincent draws here between the flamboyant chief and the radiant hills was no doubt intended to strike a blow against the defeatist tales being told of his people’s decline.