Artist | Vincent van Gogh

Year | January 1889

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

95 x 73 cm

Location

Van Gogh Museum ↗, Currently on display in the exhibition Yellow. Beyond Van Gogh’s Colour (until 17 May 2026).

Sunflowers

Vincent van Gogh created five large canvases featuring sunflowers in a vase while in Arles. He utilized three shades of yellow 'and nothing else' to demonstrate that numerous variations of a single colour could produce a compelling image without a loss of eloquence. For van Gogh, these works communicated 'gratitude'. During Paul Gauguin’s stay at the Yellow House, he was deeply impressed by the paintings, describing them as 'completely Vincent'. Van Gogh painted a new version during his friend's stay; although Gauguin later requested one as a gift, Vincent was reluctant. He eventually produced two loose copies, one of which is now held at the Van Gogh Museum.