Paris, May 1887 A skull is monochrome, but Van Gogh used many different colors to paint this one. Could he produce a convincing image of it in this way? This seems to have been the question in Van Gogh’s mind when he made this study in color. He has suggested the shiny surface of the skull by zigzagging a heavy brushload of white paint across it. [https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0128V1962]