The Drinkers
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)1890
View the original$18
Type
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Materials & printing
Archival matte paper, 189 g/m² (10.3 mil), sourced from Japan, printed with multicolor water-based inkjet so every brushstroke stays crisp. Framed prints arrive ready to hang in a .75″ ayous-wood frame with an acrylite front. Sized to standard frames by cropping, never stretching — at most about 3% comes off one edge, which isn’t noticeable on most pieces, and we only offer a size when it stays that small.
Shipping & returns
Made to order and delivered in 5–8 business days (2–4 to print, 3–4 in transit). US shipping only for now. Because each print is made for your order, all sales are final — but if it arrives damaged or defective, send us a photo within 14 days and we’ll replace it free. Full policy.
Why is it this affordable?
A thin, flat margin on every piece — just enough to keep the store running. Most of what you pay is the print itself. We only sell sizes that reproduce at full quality, and we don’t mark up the large sizes the way most shops do.
About this work
During his time in the Asylum of Saint-Paul in Saint-Rémy, a small town near Arles, Vincent van Gogh made a number of copies of the work of artists he admired, which freed him from having to produce original compositions and allowed him to concentrate instead on interpretation. For this image, Van Gogh copied a wood engraving from Honoré Daumier’s Drinkers, a parody on the four ages of man. The exaggerated figure types capture Daumier’s characteristic humor and convey his sad message about the horrors of alcoholism. The greenish palette may well be an allusion to the notorious alcoholic drink absinthe.
This is one of thirty-five works that comprise the Winterbotham Collection. Click here to learn more about the collection.
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 59.4 × 73.4 cm (23 3/8 × 28 7/8 in.)
Museum record · 4 owners · 9 exhibitions
Provenance
- The artist; sent to his brother, Theo van Gogh (died 1891); possibly by descent to his wife, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger (died 1925).
- Given to Émile Bernard (died 1941), Paris, 1890 or 1891; his mother, Héloïse Bernard (died 1909), before 1899; given to Galerie Vollard, Paris, Jan. 7, 1899; sold to Jack Aghion, Paris (died before 1914), by 1905 for 500 FRF.
- Carl Reininghaus, Vienna (died 1929), by 1909 to at least 1925; by descent, until 1931.
- Probably given on consignment to Galerie Thannhauser, Munich and Berlin, Apr. 1931; sold to Joseph Winterbotham, Jr. (died 1954), Burlington, Vt., before Nov. 13, 1933; given by Joseph Winterbotham to the Art Institute, 1953.
Exhibitions
- Paris, Salon des Indépendants, Exposition Rétrospective de l’Oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh, Mar. 24–Apr. 30, 1905 Vienna Secession, Internationale Kunstschau, May–Oct., 1909 Berlin, Paul Cassirer, Zehnter Ausstellung.
- Vincent van Gogh, May–June, 1914.
- Vienna Secession, Die führenden Meister der franzöisischen Kunst im neunzehnten Jahrhundert, Mar.-Apr. 1925.
- Chicago, Arts Club, Exhibition of the Joseph Winterbotham Collection, Dec. 9–31, 1936.
- New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers, Nov. 25, 1986–Mar. 22, 1987.
- Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Hermitage Museum, Ot Delakrua do Matissa: shedevry frantsuzskoĭ zhivopici XIX-nachala XX veka, iz Muieia Metropoliten v Niu-Ĭorke i Khudozhestvennogo Instituta v Chikago, Mar. 15-May 19, 1988; Moscow, Pushkin Museum, June 10-July 30, 1988.
- Budapest, Sveepmuvesti Museum, Van Gogh in Budapest, Dec. 1, 2006—Apr. 1, 2007.
- Rome, Complesso Monumentale dell Vittoriano, Vincent Van Gogh: Timeless Country – Modern City, 8 Oct. 2010 – 6 Feb. 2011, as The Drinkers or The Four Ages of Man.
- Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Van Gogh at Work, Se, 2013-Jan. 13, 2014.
