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Adventures with Van Gogh
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Revisiting Van Gogh’s comments on the Crimean War—when the Russian emperor was defeated by the winter weather

Vincent declared that a cartoon in Punch magazine was greater than Holbein's Dance of Death

Martin Bailey
11 March 2022
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Van Gogh’s mounted copy of John Leech’s "Russia has Two Generals in whom she can confide – Generals Janvier and Février [January and February]”, Punch, 10 March 1855. © Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Van Gogh’s mounted copy of John Leech’s "Russia has Two Generals in whom she can confide – Generals Janvier and Février [January and February]”, Punch, 10 March 1855. © Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Adventures with Van Gogh

Adventures with Van Gogh is a weekly blog by Martin Bailey, The Art Newspaper's long-standing correspondent and expert on the Dutch painter. Published on Fridays, stories range from newsy items about this most intriguing artist, to scholarly pieces based on meticulous investigations and discoveries. 

Explore all of Martin’s adventures with Van Gogh here.

© Martin Bailey

Van Gogh loved the work of English illustrators, and among his favourites was a cartoon from the London-based satirical magazine Punch about the Crimean War—where Russia pitted its forces against those of Europe.

The caricature was based on Tsar Nicholas I’s belief that his trump card was the icy weather of January and February. Russians, because of their climate, could cope with these wintery months, but more vulnerable Europeans would face defeat.

Vincent had bought the 1855 back issue of the weekly publication in October 1882, while living in The Hague. He cut out and preserved his copy of the Crimean War print by John Leech, mounting it on dark beige card, and this still survives in the collection of Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum.

Writing to his friend Anthon van Rappard, Van Gogh explained the point of the Punch image: “The then Emperor of Russia had said in his speech from the throne, I believe, alluding to the Crimean War then taking place, that Russia had two [army] generals on whom it could rely, namely the winter months of January and February.”

The cartoon depicted “the old Emperor on his deathbed”, with “General February” represented as “a skeleton in a general’s uniform”—and both being showered with snow.

Van Gogh described the “marvellous” image as having a sentiment that was possibly “even more profound and more serious" than Hans Holbein the Younger’s Dance of Death series (around 1525).

Woodcut of Hans Holbein the Younger’s Child and Death, from the Dance of Death series (around 1525). Courtesy of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

This seems an astonishing comparison. Holbein’s Dance of Death, now dating from nearly 500 years ago, remains among the most haunting images on the fragility of human life.

And what lay behind the Punch cartoon? It was war propaganda, with the British mocking the Russians. In 1853 the tsar’s troops had invaded part of Europe on the shore of the Black Sea, including an area which is now Ukraine. This attack led to war with France, the UK and the Ottoman empire.

As for the tsar, it was he who ended up being defeated by “General February”. As Van Gogh explained to Van Rappard, in February 1855 Nicholas I “fell ill, having caught a cold, and died” on 2 March. Russia was forced to concede defeat in February 1856.

Martin Bailey is a leading Van Gogh specialist and special correspondent for The Art Newspaper. He has curated exhibitions at the Barbican Art Gallery, Compton Verney/National Gallery of Scotland and Tate Britain.

Martin Bailey’s recent Van Gogh books

Martin has written a number of bestselling books on Van Gogh’s years in France: The Sunflowers Are Mine: The Story of Van Gogh's Masterpiece (Frances Lincoln 2013, UK and US), Studio of the South: Van Gogh in Provence (Frances Lincoln 2016, UK and US), Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum (White Lion Publishing 2018, UK and US) and Van Gogh’s Finale: Auvers and the Artist’s Rise to Fame (Frances Lincoln 2021, UK and US). The Sunflowers are Mine (2024, UK and US) and Van Gogh’s Finale (2024, UK and US) are also now available in a more compact paperback format.

His other recent books include Living with Vincent van Gogh: The Homes & Landscapes that shaped the Artist (White Lion Publishing 2019, UK and US), which provides an overview of the artist’s life. The Illustrated Provence Letters of Van Gogh has been reissued (Batsford 2021, UK and US). My Friend Van Gogh/Emile Bernard provides the first English translation of Bernard’s writings on Van Gogh (David Zwirner Books 2023, UKand US).

To contact Martin Bailey, please email vangogh@theartnewspaper.com

Please note that he does not undertake authentications.

Explore all of Martin’s adventures with Van Gogh here

Adventures with Van GoghVincent van GoghCartoonsRussiaCrimea
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