Arles · 1888–1889 · A series, not a single painting
The Sunflowersby Vincent van Gogh
Fifteen flowers in a vase, yellows almost without shadow and a paint surface so thick that each seed seems to hold the painter's gesture. Behind this familiar image lies a larger story: seven Arles canvases, a project to welcome Gauguin, and the fragile dream of an artists' studio in the South.
The first thing to understand
"The Sunflowers" is the name of a family of artworks
When we talk about theSunflowersby Van Gogh, we most often think of the National Gallery version in London: fifteen flowers in a yellow vase, against a background almost as yellow. Yet Van Gogh did not paint a single canvas but a series. In Arles, he produced four compositions in August 1888, then three repetitions in January 1889.
The National Gallery therefore counts seven Arles versions. Five are now displayed in museums: London, Amsterdam, Munich, Philadelphia and Tokyo. Another belongs to a private collection and has not been shown for several generations; the version acquired in Japan in 1921 was destroyed during the Second World War.
This Arles series must itself be distinguished from the sunflowers painted in Paris in 1887. In those earlier studies, the flowers are cut and laid on a table, sometimes wilted or gone to seed. In Arles, Van Gogh straightens the motif: the sunflowers enter a vase, gain a colored background and become the panels of a decorative project.
Understanding the Sunflowers means moving from an isolated icon to a set conceived as a decoration — a rhythm of canvases, of colors, and of meanings.
The Yellow House and the Studio of the South
Flowers prepared for Gauguin's arrival
In 1888, Van Gogh lives in Arles and dreams of a community of artists working together. The sunflowers must give this future studio a visual identity.
A Studio in the South
Van Gogh imagined Arles as the starting point for an artists' association. He hoped Gauguin would join him, and that other painters would then form a close-knit studio around them.
Painting Before the Flowers Wilt
In his letter to Theo of 21 or 22 August 1888, Vincent explains that he works from sunrise. The bouquets deteriorate quickly: each panel must be finished "in one go".
A room for Gauguin
Two large bouquets, those now in Munich and London, were intended for the guest's room. The yellow was meant to welcome, to warm, and to turn the space into a pictorial manifesto.
A dream soon shattered
Gauguin arrives on October 23. After nine weeks of work and tensions, their cohabitation ends in December. The Sunflowers preserve the light of the project before its collapse.
View the London version
Fifteen flowers, fifteen states of presence
Van Gogh paints less a perfectly arranged bouquet than a complete cycle: birth, blooming, loss of petals and transformation into seeds.
A very simple vase
The vessel is reduced to two yellow zones separated by a line. It anchors the bouquet without competing with it and bears the signature 'Vincent' in blue.
The circle of flowers
The flower heads form a network of disks rather than a regular pyramid. Some look at the viewer; others tip over or turn to the side.
Life and decline
The lowest bud has not yet opened; other flowers are radiating; the heaviest have lost their petals. The bouquet thus contains several moments at once.
The table line
A simple horizontal line separates the wall from the surface. The space remains almost flat: all the depth comes from the layering of stems, leaves, and flowers.
The impasto
The centers are built with thick, repeated touches. The paint does not only describe the seeds: it physically imitates their density.
The signature
Van Gogh signs with his first name, as he often does. "Vincent" appears on the vase and becomes a colored element of the composition, not a mention added after the fact.
An almost monochrome painting
Yellow as light, matter, and experience
Van Gogh uses several chrome yellows, ochres and light mixtures to vary a deliberately restricted palette.
A Symphony in Blue and Yellow
In his August 1888 letters, Van Gogh imagines panels where yellows would burst against backgrounds ranging from pale Veronese green to royal blue. He even compares the sought effect to that of Gothic stained glass. The series therefore does not arise from a spontaneous taste for a single color: it stems from a decorative program in which contrasts were meant to circulate from one canvas to the next.
The London version pushes the "light on light" approach particularly far. Background, table, vase, petals and centers use different yellows. The distinction no longer depends only on hue, but on the direction of the brushstroke, the thickness, the matte quality and the fine blue or green lines.
The still visible versions
Five museums, five bouquets
The differences in the number of flowers, background, and touch are not copying mistakes. They reveal how Van Gogh takes an idea and develops it.
National Gallery
Fifteen flowers, light yellow background, one of the two large versions intended for Gauguin's room.
Neue Pinakothek
Fourteen flowers on a yellow-green background, another large panel kept for the Yellow House.
Van Gogh Museum
A repetition of the London bouquet, with differences in texture, color, and outlines.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
A repetition linked to the decorative project associating the bouquets with La Berceuse.
Sompo Museum of Art
Another version on a yellow background, now kept in Japan.
| Group | Date | Current location | Key takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| First version | August 1888 | Private collection | Three large sunflowers in a green vase, on a light background. |
| Second version | August 1888 | Destroyed in 1945 | Smaller bouquet on a royal blue background; work vanished during the war. |
| Munich | August 1888 | Neue Pinakothek | Grand bouquet of fourteen flowers, conceived for the Yellow House. |
| London | August 1888 | National Gallery | Fifteen flowers and a famous yellow-on-yellow harmony. |
| Repertories | January 1889 | Amsterdam, Philadelphia, Tokyo | Three versions that Van Gogh considered as full-fledged works. |
More than a happy bouquet
Friendship, gratitude, the cycle of life
The Sunflowers are often presented as a simple symbol of joy. The colour, the Provençal sun and Van Gogh's enthusiasm while waiting for Gauguin justify this reading. Yet the bouquet also contains withered flowers, stripped of their petals and already transformed into seeds.
The National Gallery links this cycle to the tradition of thevanitasin Dutch flower painting: every bloom carries within it the passage of time. The painting therefore proclaims not only vitality. It shows the entire life of a sunflower, from the closed bud to the dry capitulum, and transforms the end into the promise of new seeds.
The flower also took on a personal value for Van Gogh. Gauguin appreciated it; Vincent associates it with his own language and writes in January 1889 that he has, "in a way," the sunflower as other painters have their flower. The motif becomes a signature, the emblem of a painter seeking an immediately recognizable color.
Finally, the January 1889 repetitions were meant to converse withLa Berceuse, portrait of Augustine Roulin holding the cord of a cradle. Placed between two bouquets, the maternal figure would have been surrounded by flowers capable of evoking consolation, gratitude, and continuity. The Sunflowers therefore never form a fixed meaning: a welcome for Gauguin, an artistic assertion, a meditation on time, and a protective setting can coexist.
The essential chronology
From Paris to global icon
The current fame results from a motif that was reused, exhibited, collected, and disseminated well after the Arles stay.
Where to see the Sunflowers?
A series spread across three continents
No museum owns the entire series. Seeing several versions makes it possible to compare decisions that reproductions sometimes render invisible.
Five main destinations
The National Gallery in London holds the most reproduced 1888 version; the Neue Pinakothek in Munich owns the other major bouquet of the first group. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Sompo Museum of Art in Tokyo hold the 1889 repetitions.
Hangings can change, notably due to loans and exhibitions. In 2026, the London version is announced on loan to Philadelphia for an exhibition devoted to the series. Always check the museum's official page before travelling.
Hanging the sun without overwhelming the room
How to display a reproduction of the Sunflowers
The canvas has a dense palette and an immediate presence. It works best as a focal point rather than as another element added to an already very busy wall.
| Light wall | An off-white, linen or warm beige lets the yellow shine while maintaining a soft atmosphere. |
|---|---|
| Blue wall | Petroleum blue, gray-blue or Prussian blue create the complementary contrast imagined by Van Gogh in his letters. |
| Green wall | An olive or sage green recalls the stems and balances the yellows without making the whole look too showy. |
| Frame | Light wood, medium oak, deep blue, or a black shadow box. A bright gilt finish can compete with the painting. |
| Lighting | Warm, lateral light accentuates the impasto; avoid a frontal spotlight that flattens the texture with glare. |
| Room | Dining room, living room, entryway, or open kitchen: living spaces that suit the painting's decorative purpose. |
Oil painting reproduction
Sunflowers — Vincent van Gogh
Discover the National Gallery version — its yellow vase, fifteen flowers, and expressive impasto — in a hand-painted work.
See the reproduction and the formatsExplore the shop
Compare the Sunflowers and continue with Van Gogh
The different versions, the Parisian studies and the flower collections let you choose a bouquet, palette and composition truly suited to your interior.
The Sunflowers · London
The yellow-on-yellow version with fifteen flowers.
First series · MunichVase with Sunflowers
Compare the other large panel intended for the Yellow House.
Paris · 1887Four Withered Sunflowers
Discover the motif before the great Arles bouquets.
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Verified sources
Reading the Sunflowers with the museums and the letters
The dates, the number of versions, the materials and the decorative project are based on the National Gallery and the scholarly edition of Van Gogh's correspondence.
National Gallery
Complete record of the London version, dimensions, series, Gauguin, flower cycle and provenance
View the entryResearch on the two versions
Comparison of the London and Amsterdam canvases, X-rays, pigments and working method.
Explore the technical studyLetter 666 to Theo
Van Gogh describes the bouquets in progress, his decorative project, and the need to work before the flowers wilt.
Read the letter from August 1888Letter 744 to Theo
The January 1889 repetitions and their presentation around the versions of La Berceuse.
Read the letter from January 1889FAQ
Understanding Van Gogh's Sunflowers
The essential answers on their date, their number, their color, Gauguin, and the museums that keep them.
When did Van Gogh paint the Sunflowers?
Van Gogh paints four versions at Arles in August 1888, then three repetitions in January 1889. He had already produced studies of cut sunflowers in Paris in 1887.
How many versions of the Sunflowers are there?
The Arles Sunflowers series comprises seven versions. Five are on display in museums, one belongs to a private collection, and one was destroyed during the Second World War.
Why did Van Gogh paint this series?
He wanted to decorate the Yellow House and welcome Paul Gauguin as part of his artistic community project, the Studio of the South. The 1889 repetitions were also meant to dialogue with La Berceuse.
Where is the most famous version located?
The version with fifteen flowers painted in August 1888 belongs to the National Gallery in London. Its display can however change in the event of a temporary loan.
What are the dimensions of the London Sunflowers?
The canvas measures 92.1 centimeters high by 73 centimeters wide. It is painted in oil on canvas and bears the signature 'Vincent' on the vase.
What do sunflowers symbolize in Van Gogh's work?
They can evoke friendship, welcome, gratitude and joy, but also the cycle of life: the bouquet brings together buds, open flowers, and flower heads already wilted or gone to seed.
Why does the painting contain so much yellow?
Van Gogh experiments with a light-on-light harmony of several chrome yellows, ochres, and blue or green accents. The texture and direction of his brushstrokes allow the forms to emerge.
Did Van Gogh paint the Sunflowers in front of Gauguin?
Gauguin depicted Vincent painting sunflowers, but the scene is reconstructed: the flowering season was over, and Van Gogh did not work on the series during their two months of cohabitation in Arles.
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