Vincent van Gogh, 'Two Crabs', 1889
Key facts
Full title | Two Crabs |
---|---|
Artist | Vincent van Gogh |
Artist dates | 1853 - 1890 |
Date made | 1889 |
Medium and support | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 47 × 61 cm |
Acquisition credit | On loan from a Private Collection |
Inventory number | L995 |
Location | Room 43 |
Image copyright | On loan from a Private Collection, © Private collection. Used by permission |
Collection | Main Collection |
Two Crabs
Vincent van Gogh
This is thought to have been painted soon after Van Gogh's release from hospital in Arles in January 1889. On 7 January he wrote to his brother Theo: 'I am going to set to work again tomorrow. I shall start by doing one or two still lifes to get used to painting again'. He was probably also inspired by a woodcut by Hokusai, 'Crabs', which was reproduced in the May 1888 issue of 'Le Japon Artistique', sent to Vincent by Theo in September of that year. In a related painting in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, the crab is shown lying on its back. Here it is probably the same crab shown both on its back and upright. The artist has used varied brushstrokes to convey texture. Parallel strokes sculpt the creature's form on an exuberant sea-like surface.
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