''Sunflowers'' (original title, in French: ''Tournesols'') is the title of two series of

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, bo ...

paintings by the Dutch painter

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

. 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 Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...

, shows a bouquet of

sunflowers ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to N ...

in a vase. In the artist's mind, both sets were linked by the name of his friend

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

, who acquired two of the Paris versions. About eight months later van Gogh hoped to welcome and impress Gauguin again with ''Sunflowers'', now part of the painted ''

Décoration for the Yellow House ''Décoration for the Yellow House'' was the main project Vincent van Gogh focused on in Arles, from August 1888 until his breakdown the day before Christmas. This ''Décoration'' had no pre-defined form or size; the central ''idea of the Décor ...

'' that he prepared for the guestroom of his home in Arles, where Gauguin was supposed to stay. After Gauguin's departure, van Gogh imagined the two major versions as wings of the ''Berceuse Triptych'', and finally, he included them in his Les XX in Bruxelles exhibit.

The Paris ''Sunflowers''

Little is known of Van Gogh's activities during the two years he lived with his brother, Theo, in Paris, 1886–1888. The fact that he had painted ''Sunflowers'' already is only revealed in the spring of 1889, when Gauguin claimed one of the Arles versions in exchange for studies he had left behind after leaving Arles for Paris. Van Gogh was upset and replied that Gauguin had absolutely no right to make this request: "I am definitely keeping my sunflowers in question. He has two of them already, let that hold him. And if he is not satisfied with the exchange he has made with me, he can take back his little Martinique canvas, and his self-portrait sent to me from Brittany,Wildenstein at the same time giving me back both my portrait and the two sunflower canvases which he has taken to Paris. So if he ever broaches this subject again, I've told you just how matters stand." The two ''Sunflowers'' in question show two buttons each; one of them was preceded by a small study, and a fourth large canvas combines both compositions. These were Van Gogh's first paintings with ''"nothing but sunflowers"''—yet, he had already included sunflowers in still life and landscape earlier. Vincent Willem van Gogh 123

The Arles ''Sunflowers''

In a letter to

Theo Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

dating from 21 or 22 August 1888, Vincent wrote: "I'm painting with the gusto of a Marseillais eating

bouillabaisse Bouillabaisse (; oc, bolhabaissa, bullabessa ) is a traditional Provençal fish stew originating in the port city of Marseille. The French and English form ''bouillabaisse'' comes from the Provençal Occitan word ''bolhabaissa'', a compound ...

, which won’t surprise you when it's a question of painting large sunflowers." At this time he had three paintings on the go, and intended to do more; as he explained to his brother: "in the hope of living in a studio of our own with Gauguin, I'd like to do a decoration for the studio. Nothing but large sunflowers". Leaving aside the first two versions, all Arlesian ''Sunflowers'' are painted on size 30 canvases.

The initial versions, August 1888

The versions of the paintings provided by van Gogh in his announcement of his sunflower series do not precisely match every detail supplied by him. The first version differs in size, is painted on a size 20 canvas—not on a size 15 canvas as indicated—and all the others differ in the number of flowers depicted from van Gogh's announcement. The second was evidently enlarged and the initial composition altered by insertion of the two flowers lying in the foreground, center and right. Neither the third nor the fourth shows the dozen or 14 flowers indicated by the artist, but more—fifteen or sixteen. These alterations are executed ''wet-in-wet'' and therefore considered genuine rework—even the more so as they are copied to the ''repetitions'' of January 1889; there is no longer a trace of later alterations, at least in this aspect The fourth version of the painting was attacked on October 14, 2022 by environmental activists from the

Just Stop Oil Just Stop Oil is an environmental activist group in the United Kingdom. Using civil resistance and direct action, the group aims for the British government to commit to halting new fossil fuel licensing and production. It launched on 14 Febru ...

campaign, who threw tomato soup at it, while it was on display at

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

in London, before gluing their hands to the wall. The painting was covered with plexiglass, and it was unharmed with the exception of minor damage to the frame. The two activists were arrested and the painting was put back on display later that day. File:Vincent Van Gogh - Three Sunflowers F453.jpg, ''Sunflowers'' (F453), first version: turquoise background
Oil on canvas, 73.5 × 60 cm
Private collection File:Vincent Willem van Gogh 127.jpg, ''Sunflowers'' (F454), fourth version: yellow background
Oil on canvas, 92.1 × 73 cm

, London, England File:Vincent Willem van Gogh 128.jpg, ''Sunflowers'' (F456), third version: blue green background
Oil on canvas, 91 × 72 cm

Neue Pinakothek The Neue Pinakothek (, ''New Pinacotheca'') is an art museum in Munich, Germany. Its focus is European Art of the 18th and 19th centuries, and it is one of the most important museums of art of the nineteenth century in the world. Together with ...

, Munich, Germany File:Six Sunflowers 1888.jpg, ''Sunflowers'' (F459), second version: royal-blue background
Oil on canvas, 98 × 69 cm
Formerly private collection, Ashiya, Japan, destroyed by US air raid of World War II on 6 August 1945

The ''Repetitions'', January 1889

File:Van Gogh Twelve Sunflowers.jpg, ''Sunflowers'' (F455), repetition of the 3rd version
Oil on canvas, 92 × 72.5 cm

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin ...

, Philadelphia, United States. File:Vincent van Gogh - Sunflowers - VGM F458.jpg, ''Sunflowers'' (F458), repetition of the 4th version (yellow background)
Oil on canvas, 95 × 73 cm

Van Gogh Museum The Van Gogh Museum () is a Dutch art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in the Museum Square in Amsterdam South, close to the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw. The museum opene ...

, Amsterdam, Netherlands. File:Van Gogh Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers.jpg, ''Sunflowers'' (F457), replica of the 4th version (yellow green background)
Oil on canvas, 100 × 76 cm
Sompo Japan Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan. Both ''repetitions'' of the 4th version are no longer in their original state. In the Amsterdam version, a strip of wood was added at the top—probably by van Gogh himself. The Tokyo version, however, was enlarged on all sides with strips of canvas, which were added at a later time—presumably by the first owner,

Émile Schuffenecker Claude-Émile Schuffenecker (8 December 1851 – 31 July 1934) was a French Post-Impressionist artist, painter, art teacher and art collector. A friend of Paul Gauguin and Odilon Redon, and one of the first collectors of works by Vincent van Go ...

. The series is perhaps van Gogh's best known and most widely reproduced. In the 2000s debate arose regarding the authenticity of one of the paintings, and it has been suggested that this version may have been the work of

or of

. Most experts, however, conclude that the work is genuine.

The ''Berceuse''-Triptych

Vincent van Gogh - Sunflowers Berceuse triptych - letter

In January 1889, when Vincent had just finished the first repetitions of the ''Berceuse'' and the ''Sunflowers'' pendants, he told Theo: "I picture to myself these same canvases between those of the sunflowers, which would thus form torches or candelabra beside them, the same size, and so the whole would be composed of seven or nine canvases." A definite hint for the arrangement of the

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

is supplied by Van Gogh's sketch in a letter of July 1889. Later that year, Vincent selected both versions for his display at Les XX, 1890.

Sunflowers, friendship and gratitude

Paul Gauguin - Vincent van Gogh painting sunflowers - Google Art Project

Van Gogh began painting in late summer of 1888 and continued into the following year. One went to decorate his friend

's bedroom. The paintings show sunflowers in all stages of life, from full bloom to withering. The paintings were considered innovative for their use of the yellow spectrum, partly because newly invented

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

s made new colours possible. In a letter to Theo, Vincent wrote:

"It's a type of painting that changes its aspect a little, which grows in richness the more you look at it. Besides, you know that Gauguin likes them extraordinarily. He said to me about them, among other things: ‘that — ... that's... the flower’. You know that Jeannin has the peony, Quost has the hollyhock, but I have the sunflower, in a way."

Subsequent history

Isaac Israels - Woman before %27%27Sunflowers%27%27 by van Gogh%2C 1917

On March 30, 1987, Japanese insurance magnate Yasuo Goto paid the equivalent of US$39,921,750 for van Gogh's ''Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers'' at auction at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémi ...

London, at the time a record-setting amount for a work of art. The price was over three times the previous record of about $12million paid for

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in orde ...

's ''

Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...

'' in 1985. The record was broken a few months later with the purchase of another Van Gogh, '' Irises'', by

Alan Bond Alan Bond (22 April 1938 – 5 June 2015) was an English-born Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s, and what was at the time ...

for $53.9million at

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

, New York on November 11, 1987. While it is uncertain whether Yasuo Goto bought the painting himself or on behalf of his company, the Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Japan, the painting currently resides at Seiji Togo Yasuda Memorial Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. After the purchase, a controversy arose whether this is a genuine van Gogh or an

forgery.

Provenances

Two Paris versions van Gogh exchanged with Gauguin in December 1887 or January 1888, were both sold to

Ambroise Vollard Ambroise Vollard (3 July 1866 – 21 July 1939) was a French art dealer who is regarded as one of the most important dealers in French contemporary art at the beginning of the twentieth century. He is credited with providing exposure and emotio ...

: one in January 1895 and the other in April 1896. The first canvas resided for a short time with Félix Roux, but was reacquired by Vollard and sold to

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is espec ...

, then from his estate to Rosenberg, then to Hahnloser and bequested to the

Kunstmuseum Bern The Museum of Fine Arts Bern (German: ''Kunstmuseum Bern''), established in 1879 in Bern, is the museum of fine arts of the de facto capital of Switzerland. Its holdings run from the Middle Ages to the present. It houses works by Paul Klee, Pabl ...

. The second was acquired by the Dutch collector Hoogendijk at the sale of his collection by Kann, who ceded the painting to Richard Bühler and then via Thannhauser to the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Two of van Gogh's ''Sunflowers'' paintings never left the artist's estate: the study for one of the Paris versions (F377) and the repetition of fourth version (F458). Both are in the possession of the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, established 1962 by Vincent Willem van Gogh, the artist's nephew, and on permanent loan to the

, Amsterdam. Five other versions are recorded in the Van Gogh estate papers: *the final Paris version (F.452) in the artist's estate was sold 1909 via C. M. van Gogh,

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

(J. H. de Bois) to Kröller-Müller *(F457) sold 1894 to

. (Tokyo version). *(F456) sold 1905 via

Paul Cassirer Paul Cassirer (21 February 1871, in Görlitz – 7 January 1926, in Berlin) was a German art dealer and editor who played a significant role in the promotion of the work of artists of the Berlin Secession and of French Impressionists and Post- ...

Hugo von Tschudi Hugo von Tschudi (1851–1911) was an art historian and museum curator. He was director of the Nationalgalerie in Berlin (1896–1909) where he acquired many important Impressionist works. Tschudi was born in Austria and became a natura ...

. (Munich version). *(F459) sold 1908 C. M. van Gogh (J. H. de Bois), The Hague to Fritz Meyer-Fierz, Zürich (destroyed by U.S. air raid in Japan on 6 August 1945). *(F454) sold 1924 via Ernest Brown & Phillips (The

Leicester Galleries Leicester Galleries was an art gallery located in London from 1902 to 1977 that held exhibitions of modern British, French and international artists' works. Its name was acquired in 1984 by Peter Nahum, who operates "Peter Nahum at the Leiceste ...

) to the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

; since on permanent loan to the

, London. (London version). Two Arles versions left the artist's estate unrecorded: *(F453) (private collection). Sold 1891 to Octave Mirbeau, Paris, (via Tanguy, Paris) for £12 (about £1,300 in 2013 £). Sold 1996 to a private collector for an undisclosed sum.Bailey, 2013, p. 202 *(F455) (Philadelphia version).

References

Sources

*Bailey, Martin: ''The Sunflowers Are Mine: The Story of Van Gogh's Masterpiece'', Frances Lincoln Limited (2013), *Dorn, Roland: ''"Décoration": Vincent van Gogh's Werkreihe für das Gelbe Haus in Arles'', Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim, Zürich & New York, 1990, pp. 58–61, 73–80, 113–117, 335–348, 455–462 *Hoffmann, Konrad: ''Zu van Goghs Sonnenblumenbildern'', Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 31, 1968, pp. 27–58 * *Stolwijk, Chris, & Veenenbos, Han: ''The account book of Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger'', Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam & Primavera Press, Leiden 2002 *Tellegen, Annet: ''Vincent en Gauguin: schilderijenruil in Paris'', Museumjournaal 11, 1966, pp. 42–45 *Van Tilborgh, Louis & Hendriks, Ella: ''The Tokyo 'Sunflowers': a genuine repetition by Van Gogh or a Schuffenecker forgery?'', Van Gogh Museum Journal 2001, pp. 17–43 * Welsh-Ovcharov, Bogomila: ''The Ownership of Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers, ''

The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation si ...

'', March 1998, pp. 184–192

External links

''Sunflowers''
on

Google Art Project Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...

''Sunflowers'' at vggallery.com
the complete series of paintings.

offers an analysis of two sunflower paintings.
The Munich version of Vincent van Gogh's ''Sunflowers'' at Neue Pinakothek
o
bavarikon''Van Gogh, paintings and drawings: a special loan exhibition''
a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on these paintings (see index)
Sunflowers (Van Gogh)
- Video - Check123 Video Encyclopedia {{ACArt 1887 paintings 1888 paintings 1889 paintings Collections of the National Gallery, London Paintings by Vincent van Gogh Series of paintings by Vincent van Gogh Still life paintings by Vincent van Gogh Collections of the Van Gogh Museum Paintings of Arles by Vincent van Gogh Flower paintings Paintings in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Collection of the Neue Pinakothek Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom