Which Van Gogh painting depicts a wooden chair with a pipe?

Which Van Gogh painting depicts a wooden chair with a pipe? The answer is Van Gogh’s Chair.

Van Gogh painted Van Gogh’s Chair in Arles in 1888. It shows a simple rustic wooden chair with a woven straw seat, placed on a tiled floor. A pipe and tobacco pouch rest on the seat, while an onion box marked with Vincent’s name stands behind it. The ordinary objects turn a domestic still life into a strongly personal image.

The painting was part of Van Gogh’s plans to decorate the Yellow House, where he hoped to establish an artists’ community. It has a companion work, Gauguin’s Chair, which depicts a more elaborate armchair associated with Paul Gauguin. Their contrasting colors and furnishings are often read as reflections of the two artists’ different personalities and artistic identities.

The main mix-up is between Van Gogh’s Chair and Gauguin’s Chair: both are chair paintings from Arles, but only the former features the plain wooden chair and pipe. Van Gogh’s Chair is now held by the National Gallery in London.