Fifteen sunflowers — some blazing, some seeding, some dying — in a plain jug, painted yellow on yellow on yellow 'with the gusto of a Marseillais eating bouillabaisse.'
Why it matters
A still life turned into a manifesto: that color alone, almost unaided, can carry gratitude, energy and the whole cycle of life.
What to notice
Painted to decorate Gauguin's bedroom before his arrival in Arles; Vincent signed it — rare for him — on the vase, like a potter proud of his work.
Context
Made in the yellow house at Arles during the feverish weeks of hope before the friendship with Gauguin collapsed.
Themes
Gratitude, friendship, vitality and decay in one bouquet.
Legacy
One version's 1987 sale tripled the world auction record and announced the modern art market; the image is Van Gogh's emblem worldwide.
About the artist
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). A failed preacher who took up painting at 27, Van Gogh produced some 900 canvases in a single decade, sold almost none, and changed forever what color is allowed to mean.
Post-Impressionism (c. 1885–1910): The generation after Impressionism kept its bright palette but wanted more than the eye's report: structure, symbol, feeling. Cézanne rebuilt nature in planes, Seurat in dots, Van Gogh in waves of expressive color — three private roads leading straight to modern art.
Walk the Grand Gallery → See this painting hung in its wing, with music and guided tours, in the full virtual museum.