Van Gogh¡¯s paintings of Sunflowers are among his most famous. He did them in Arles, in the south of France, in 1888 and 1889. Vincent painted a total of five large canvases with sunflowers in a vase, with three shades of yellow ¡®and nothing else¡¯. In this way, he demonstrated that it was possible to create an image with numerous variations of a single colour, without any loss of eloquence.The sunflower paintings had a special significance for Van Gogh they communicated ¡®gratitude¡¯, he wrote. He hung the first two in the room of his friend, the painter Paul Gauguin, who came to live with him for a while in the Yellow House. Gauguin was impressed by the sunflowers, which he thought were ¡®completely Vincent¡¯. Van Gogh had already painted a new version during his friend¡¯s stay and Gauguin later asked for one as a gift, which Vincent was reluctant to give him. He later produced two loose copies, however, one of which is now in the Van Gogh Museum. Title Sunflowers Creator Vincent van Gogh Creator Lifespan 30 March 1853 - 29 July 1890 Creator Nationality Dutch Creator Gender Male Creator Death Place Auvers-sur-Oise Creator Birth Place Zundert Date Created January 1889 - 1889 Location Created Arles, France Place Part Of France Physical Dimensions w73 cm x h95 cm Type Still life Rights Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
