Why it matters
A skeleton's skull with a lit cigarette between its teeth: Van Gogh probably painted it in Antwerp in the winter of 1885–86 as a joke about academic training, where students drew skeletons to learn anatomy. It is also read as a memento mori.
Did you know?
- It measures only 32 by 24.5 centimetres.
- Van Gogh said the academy classes were boring and taught him nothing.
- He was a keen smoker himself until his death in 1890.
Based on the Wikipedia article Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette (CC BY-SA 4.0).
