Hence, the background of his self-portrait is covered with the sunflowers Van Gogh loved so much. "Chen's self-portrait shows the role artists played in bringing respect to the Taiwanese in a colonial society under authoritarian control and the admiration that the Taiwanese had for the heroes of Western art," remarks Hsiao Chiung-jui.
因此他在自畫像的背景上，鋪滿一朵朵梵谷喜愛的向日葵，「陳澄波的自畫像飽含著台灣人在殖民權威下，油畫家為台灣人爭光榮的使命，及人們對西畫英雄的崇拜」，蕭瓊瑞指出。