Van Gogh – A Crab on Its Back (1888) Oil Study

Painted during Van Gogh’s Arles period, this intimate study transforms a humble crustacean into a meditation on vulnerability. The crab’s exposed underside, rendered in warm oranges against cool greens, demonstrates Van Gogh’s growing interest in Japanese-influenced compositions of isolated natural subjects.

Artist	Vincent van Gogh
Year	1888
Category	Animals
Medium	Oil on canvas
Licence	CC0 Public Domain
Resolution	2 560 × 1 881 px
Format	JPEG
File Size	~2.5 MB