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Primary sourcePainting1888

Sunflowers

Vincent van Gogh · 1888

A series of still-life paintings of sunflowers by Van Gogh, made in Paris and Arles, including the famous vase paintings meant to welcome Gauguin.

Painted by Van Gogh as part of his plan to decorate the Yellow House for Gauguin's visit.

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Oil painting of a vase of yellow sunflowers in various stages of bloom and wilt, against a yellow background, on a yellow tabletop. The cream-colored vase has the signature 'Vincent' and a blue rim.
Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

About this source

What it is

A series of still-life paintings by Vincent van Gogh, first made in Paris in 1887 showing sunflowers lying on the ground, then in Arles in 1888 showing bouquets in a vase. The Arles versions, now partly held by the Van Gogh Museum, were painted as decoration for the guestroom of his Yellow House.

Why it matters

Van Gogh linked the sunflowers to his friend Paul Gauguin, who owned two early versions and whom Van Gogh hoped to welcome and impress with the Arles paintings as part of his dream of an artists' colony. The series became one of his best-known and most reproduced works, though later questions were raised about the authenticity of one version.

Look closer

  • Why might Van Gogh have chosen sunflowers, rather than another subject, to decorate a room for a friend?
  • What do the different stages of blooming and wilting flowers suggest about time and change?
  • Why has one version's authorship been questioned, and why does that matter for how we use the painting as evidence?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Vincent van Gogh on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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