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Sunflowers (original title, in French: Tournesols) is the title of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The first series, executed in Paris in 1887, depicts the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set, made a year later in Arles, shows a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase.
Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh. Zoom in, read about this famous painting, view Vincent for scale.
Vincent wanted to be known as the painter of sunflowers. Just like other painters working at the time, Vincent made flower still lifes. But he did things a little differently. After practising with different flowers, he chose a specific variety: the sunflower.
See one of the four still lifes of sunflowers painted by van Gogh in Paris in 1887. Learn about the artist, the painting, and its history at The Met website.
- Van Gogh made two series of sunflower paintings. The famous Sunflowers is actually the second series of sunflower paintings by the artist. There is an earlier series of four works, made during his years in Paris, that depict flowers lying on the ground.
- The famous series were used as decoration. The famous series with sunflowers in a vase were initially painted as decoration for Paul Gaugin’s room in Arles.
- Gauguin made a portrait of Van Gogh working with sunflowers. In Arles, Gauguin made a portrait of Van Gogh painting one of these iconic still lifes. Through his many self-portraits we are very familiar with Van Gogh’s likeness.
- Van Gogh experimented with yellow. Still-lifes with flowers were a pretty common subject for painters at the time. At first, Van Gogh followed a more traditional approach in his still lifes but progressively moved to more extreme color contrasts.
Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888. Read about this painting, learn the key facts and zoom in to discover more.
Vincent van Gogh painted this luminous image of sunflowers from memory, in the depths of winter in 1889. Throughout his ten-year career, Van Gogh painted sunflowers repeatedly in different arrangements and settings. The shapes, colors, and cheerfulness of the modest flower appealed to him.
