Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette by Vincent Van Gogh - Wall Art Photo Poster Print

ROLLED PHOTO POSTER PRINTContact us if you require a custom size.

Printed using only high quality inks on gallery grade 280 GSM premium lustre photo paper with a semi matte/gloss finish to ensure a sharp vibrant image. The prints are trimmed to the edge of the image. Please add a note when ordering if you would like to add a specified white border to assist with framing.

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Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette by Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh’s Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette (1885-1886) is a striking and somewhat macabre painting that stands out within his body of work. The piece features a human skeleton, rendered in great anatomical detail, with a lit cigarette between its teeth. Painted in muted tones, the skeleton's hollow eye sockets and bony structure are captured with precision, using a limited palette of beige, brown, and ochre hues. Against the dark, shadowy background, the figure is presented in a frontal, three-quarter pose. The cigarette, a symbol of fleeting pleasure and the passage of time, emits faint trails of smoke, adding a surreal and slightly humorous touch to the otherwise sombre subject matter.

While the painting might initially seem like a playful or rebellious gesture, its deeper themes reflect Van Gogh’s preoccupation with mortality, decay, and the transience of life. The skeleton’s vacant stare, juxtaposed with the burning cigarette, evokes the inevitability of death and the ephemeral nature of human existence. The image could be seen as a memento mori, a reminder of the fragility of life. However, the presence of the cigarette introduces an element of dark humour, as it contrasts the lifelessness of the skeleton with a symbol of human indulgence and vice.

This painting is believed to have been created while Van Gogh was studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where skeletons were commonly used in drawing classes as a study of anatomy. Unlike his later, more famous works filled with vibrant colour and emotional intensity, Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette reflects a different facet of Van Gogh’s artistic sensibility—one marked by irony, wit, and a certain morbid fascination with death. The work, though small and less known compared to his later masterpieces, offers a glimpse into Van Gogh’s complex character and the diverse influences that shaped his artistic vision.