Why it matters
A single crab lies helplessly on its back against a green background. Van Gogh may have been inspired by a Hokusai print of a crab in the magazine Le Japon Artistique, which Theo sent him in 1888.
Did you know?
- The Van Gogh Museum dates it to August–September 1887; other sources to early 1889.
- Van Gogh also painted Two Crabs, now in the National Gallery in London.
- It is in the permanent collection of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Based on the Wikipedia article Crab on its Back (CC BY-SA 4.0).
