🦀 Cancer lying on its back – Vincent van Gogh (1887)

🔍 An unexpected subject, captured in all its substance

In the center of a vibrant green background, a lifeless crab lies on its back, exposing the fascinating texture of its shell. Van Gogh, with his expressive touch, manages to give this singular subject an almost human dramatic intensity. It is no longer just a still life: it is a portrait of resistance, fragility, and raw truth.

🕰️ Historical context: an exercise in style and emotion

Created during Van Gogh's stay in Paris, this painting is probably inspired by Japanese prints, which he greatly admired. It could also refer to a Hokusai print depicting a crab. The painter explores the contrasts of shapes, light, and symbols, in a work as technical as it is poetic.

🎨 Visual analysis: a vibrant realism

The colors are bold: the green background contrasts with the red and ochre tones of the crab, which seems almost alive. Van Gogh's brushwork is nervous, quick, incisive. The brushstrokes follow the volumes, reveal the hollows, the roughness, the shine of the shell. The whole evokes a silent battle against time, a capture of the moment.

💬 Symbolic reading: between life and finitude

This painting can be read as an existential metaphor. The crab, turned over, powerless, may evoke the vulnerability of man in the face of trials. But it is also magnified, highlighted, celebrated in its smallest details. Van Gogh does not paint death, but the raw presence, the strength of the living or once living object.

🖌️ Hand-painted reproduction – Alpha Reproduction Signature

🎨 Made with oil on museum-quality canvas
🖌️ Every detail faithfully hand-reproduced
📜 Certificate of authenticity provided
📐 Available in multiple sizes, with or without frame
🖼️ Premium framing on request (natural wood, black, gold)

🏡 Decoration tip: for a bold and unique interior

This striking work finds its place in:

🔹 A contemporary or rustic kitchen
🔹 An artistic dining room or a wall gallery
🔹 A collection space or cabinet of curiosities
🎁 Ideal for lovers of expressive art or fans of reimagined still lifes

✨ Give an atypical and powerful masterpiece

With Cancer lying on its back, you bring home an unexpected fragment of Van Gogh's genius, where color, form, and emotion come together in a raw and striking simplicity.

👉 Order your hand-painted reproduction now – Authentic art begins with an unexpected detail.