Sunflowers

Currently not on view

Sunflowers

1889

Vincent Willem van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)

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. He associated its yellow color with sunshine, the south, and Christ, the light of the world. Over a single week in August 1888, Van Gogh painted four pictures of sunflowers, including a bold canvas of twelve sunflowers against a turquoise ground, now in the Neue Pinakothek, Munich. The speed of this work was driven by enthusiasm and necessity since the flowers were destined to wilt and fade. This painting is a variation on the work now in Munich. Far from being a simple copy, it is a new interpretation that gives each flower a pronounced personality.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Sunflowers

Date:

1889

Artist:

Vincent Willem van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

36 3/8 × 28 inches (92.4 × 71.1 cm) Framed (travel): 46 3/4 × 39 1/8 × 2 1/4 inches (118.7 × 99.4 × 5.7 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

The Mr. and Mrs. Carroll S. Tyson, Jr., Collection, 1963

Accession Number:

1963-116-19

Geography:

Made in Arles, France, Europe

Provenance

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Currently not on view