Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) is one of the most famous and influential painters of Western art history, a pioneer of the post-impressionist period. His 1886 painting Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette is likely a reference to his drawing class at the art academy in Antwerp, a standard exercise to help teach anatomy and physical proportions. In this work, van Gogh pokes fun at the activity by depicting a posed skeleton with a lit cigarette in its teeth, a juvenile, but macabre hint at life.

Learn more about the work that inspired this pin HERE.