What component does vincent van Gogh used to design self- portrait and compare it to Old man with his head in his hands. what are the similarities?

Van Gogh use the same style of composition and and colors.

Explanation:

    For Vincent For Vincent Van Gohg, painting himself was not only an art style, but also a way to improve his artistic techniques and to get to know himself better - all thanks to the introspective process he underwent, since he spent hours in front of a mirror observing itself critically.

    The last of the self-portraits he painted while he was interned at the Saint-Rémy nursing home, where he willingly went in May 1889. Five months earlier he had argued with the painter and friend Paul Gauguin and injured his own ear. His paintings in this phase show a concern with movement, expressed in continuous and undulating curves. Once again, however, the color has a life of its own and, often, independent in relation to the shapes painted by the artist. This is what happens in this painting, which has a background covered in spirals in shades of blue and green with the artist's clothes merging into it. Although blue and green appear quite frequently in his works, the colors were not chosen by chance: the sum of the background tones combined with the curves on the wall form a tense image, which conveys the painter's mental confusion. His face stands out due to the red beard, the strained features and the stare that suggest an introspection, as if he were so focused on his own thoughts that he ended up “forgetting” his gaze in any direction., painting himself was not only an art style, but also a way to improve his artistic techniques and to get to know himself better - all thanks to the introspective process he underwent, since he spent hours in front of a mirror observing itself critically.