Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette
1886 · Oil on canvas · Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
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About this work
- Artist
- Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
- Year
- 1886
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 32.3 × 24.8 cm
- Collection
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
- Movement
- Post-Impressionism
A skeleton in three-quarter view holds a lit cigarette between its teeth against a dark ground, painted with the quick, bony strokes of an anatomy lesson. Van Gogh made it in Antwerp in the winter of 1885 to 1886, during his brief time at the academy, where students drew from skeletons; it is usually read as a joke at the expense of academic practice, a memento mori and perhaps a comment on his own habit, since he had bad teeth and smoked heavily. The small canvas is unlike anything else he painted and has become one of his most reproduced images. It is in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which also holds a second skull study from the same months.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A skeleton smoking a cigarette in ochre and bone against black, a dark joke for a study, bar corner or hallway at 24×36 in black. Charcoal, deep green or mustard walls suit it; pair it with The Night Café.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Post-Impressionism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1886)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — natural wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
