Vincent van Gogh
Prisoners Exercising
From $100
This little painting is all bone white on black, and a careless copy turns the black grey. Our Van Gogh skull with cigarette print was graded beside the original so the bones stay pale, the background stays deep and the smoke stays thin.
Canvas, framed or paper
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
Sizes
12x16 inch, 18x24 inch, 30x40 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
On your wall
Its tall shape suits a study, a den, a bar or a gallery wall with a sense of humour. The bone whites and black look striking with charcoal, brass and dark wood, and a black frame suits it best.
About the painting
Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette by Vincent van Gogh
Antwerp, winter 1885–86
In the winter of 1885 Vincent van Gogh was in Antwerp, living on bread, coffee and tobacco and taking classes at the Academy of Fine Arts. Students there drew skeletons to learn anatomy, and he later called the academic training “damned boring.”
A joke
So, probably as a joke on the academy, he painted a skeleton’s skull with a lit cigarette clamped between its teeth. It is also a memento mori, a reminder of death, painted when he himself was in poor health. He was a keen smoker all his life.
Small and famous
It is a small canvas, only 32 by 24.5 centimetres. It has been on loan to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam since 1973.
Read the story
Vincent van Gogh could be funny, and this little painting is probably a joke.
It's the winter of 1885, in Antwerp, in Belgium.
Vincent is thirty-two, living on bread, coffee and tobacco, and taking classes at the Academy of Fine Arts.
The students there draw skeletons, to learn how the body is built.
Vincent finds it all deadly dull. Later he calls the training damned boring.
So he paints a skeleton's skull, with a lit cigarette clamped between its teeth.
It's a joke on the academy, the museum thinks, and also a reminder of death, painted when he himself was in poor health.
He was a keen smoker all his life.
It's a small canvas, about the size of a sheet of paper.
Today it hangs in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Look the skeleton in the eye. It doesn't seem to mind.
Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette. Vincent van Gogh, about 1886.
How each piece is brought to life
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
Graded against the original
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
Questions
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
Will the colour look flat?
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Will the edges be cropped?
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Which size is right for my wall?
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
How long does it take?
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
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Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.
