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Vincent van GoghDutch, 1853–1890The Drinkers
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Art Institute of Chicago
Room241Chicago, United States
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the painting
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.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Particulars
What it shows
In the catalog
Comings and goings
On view · Gallery 241
Art Institute of Chicago · Aug 19, 2026 — now · Verified
Was not on view
Art Institute of Chicago · Aug 16, 2026 — Aug 19, 2026 · Verified
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago: the museum's own open data · fetched 8 days ago
- Image: Wikimedia Commons — Public domain (PD-Art)
Meanwhile, in the life of Vincent van Gogh
The whole lifeFebruary 1888
To Arles, dreaming of a “Studio of the South”
The public still neither accepted nor bought his paintings, and in February 1888 Van Gogh left for Arles in the south of France to found a “Studio of the South”, a brotherhood of like-minded artists in which he gave Gauguin the leading role. Theo backed the plan with money.
23 October 1888
Gauguin arrives in Arles
After much pleading Gauguin arrived in Arles, and in November the two painted together: Gauguin portrayed Van Gogh in “The Painter of Sunflowers”, and their first joint outing was to the Alyscamps. At Gauguin's suggestion Vincent painted from memory, producing “Memory of the Garden at Etten”.
23 December 1888
The severed ear
After an altercation on the evening of 23 December, Van Gogh, seemingly hearing voices, severed his left ear, wholly or in part, with a razor and delivered it, wrapped in paper, to a woman at a brothel. Next morning a policeman found him unconscious; in hospital he was diagnosed with “acute mania with generalised delirium”.
May 1889
Voluntarily into the Saint-Paul asylum
Van Gogh left Arles and voluntarily entered the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum, a former monastery in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, accompanied by the Protestant clergyman Frédéric Salles. Of his two cells with barred windows one became a studio, and the clinic and its garden became the main subjects of his paintings.
27 July 1890
A fatal wound: a revolver shot
Out painting, Van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a revolver he had bought to scare off birds while working outdoors; the bullet passed below his heart, and he made his own way back to his room at the inn. Theo arrived the next day and stayed with him to the end; according to Theo, Vincent's last words were: “The sadness will last forever.”
29 July 1890
Died
