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Van Gogh's Chair

Vincent van Gogh · 1888

A painting of van Gogh's own simple chair, pipe, and tobacco, made as a symbolic self-portrait paired with a painting of Gauguin's chair.

A symbolic self-portrait by van Gogh, using his own chair and pipe to stand in for himself.

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Painting of a wooden ladder-back chair with a woven rush seat, yellow-painted, with a clay pipe and tobacco pouch resting on the seat. Behind it is a green box labeled 'Vincent'. Tiled brown floor, teal door.
Vincent van Gogh, Van Gogh's Chair, 1888. National Gallery, London.

About this source

What it is

Van Gogh's Chair is a painting made by Vincent van Gogh in 1888, showing a plain rush-seated wooden chair with his pipe and tobacco on a tiled floor, with a box marked 'Vincent' in the background. It is held by the National Gallery, London.

Why it matters

The painting was made as a pendant to Paul Gauguin's Armchair, painted during the two artists' intense and difficult time sharing the Yellow House. Van Gogh used blue and orange for his own chair, while Gauguin's is shown in red and green, a contrast later read as a comment on their different characters and tempestuous relationship. The idea may have been inspired by an illustration of Charles Dickens' empty chair published after his death.

Look closer

  • Why might van Gogh choose a chair, rather than his own face, as a kind of self-portrait?
  • What do the simple objects on the seat suggest about him?
  • How does comparing this painting with Gauguin's chair change how you read it?

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