This self-portrait, unlike the others, was painted without the use of a mirror. In this painting, Cézanne made a variation of the portrait of himself done by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. While preserving the dimensions and composition of Renoir's pastel, Cézanne infused it with a different, more severe spirit. It lacks the rose tones that define the colour scheme of the pastel, using in their place a more prosaic bright ochre. Instead of the soft touches of the pastel chalks that create a homogenized surface, here there are broken, energetic brushstrokes whose dynamic is reinforced by their diagonal direction. Instead of the separate strands of hair in the pastel, there is a dense mass of colour. While Renoir's portrayal is mild, Cézanne's version is harsh and withdrawn.