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Sunflowers
Fourth Version
Artist	Vincent van Gogh
Year	1888
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	92.2 cm × 73 cm (36.3 in × 29 in)
Location	National Gallery, London

Sunflowers (original title, in French: Tournesols) is the title of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The first series, executed in Paris in 1887, depicts the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set, made a year later in Arles, shows a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase. In the artist's mind, both sets were linked by the name of his friend Paul Gauguin, who acquired two of the Paris versions. About eight months later, van Gogh hoped to welcome and impress Gauguin again with Sunflowers, now part of the painted Décoration for the Yellow House that he prepared for the guestroom of his home in Arles, where Gauguin was supposed to stay.

The Paris Sunflowers

Little is known of van Gogh's activities during the two years he lived with his brother, Theo, in Paris, 1886–1888. The fact that he had painted Sunflowers already is only revealed in the spring of 1889, when Gauguin claimed one of the Arles versions in exchange for studies he had left behind after leaving Arles for Paris. Van Gogh was upset and replied that Gauguin had absolutely no right to make this request: "I am definitely keeping my sunflowers in question. He has two of them already, let that hold him. And if he is not satisfied with the exchange he has made with me, he can take back his little Martinique canvas, and his self-portrait sent to me from Brittany, at the same time giving me back both my portrait and the two sunflower canvases which he has taken to Paris. So if he ever broaches this subject again, I've told you just how matters stand."

The two Sunflowers in question show two buttons each; one of them was preceded by a small study, and a fourth large canvas combines both compositions.

These were van Gogh's first paintings with "nothing but sunflowers"—yet, he had already included sunflowers in still life and landscape earlier.

The Arles Sunflowers

In a letter to Theo dating from 21 or 22 August 1888, van Gogh wrote: "I'm painting with the gusto of a Marseillais eating bouillabaisse, which won’t surprise you when it's a question of painting large sunflowers." At the time, he was working on three paintings simultaneously and intended to do more, as he explained to his brother: "in the hope of living in a studio of our own with Gauguin, I'd like to do a decoration for the studio. Nothing but large sunflowers".

Leaving aside the first two versions, all Arlesian Sunflowers are painted on size 30 canvases.

The initial versions, August 1888

The versions of the paintings provided by van Gogh in his announcement of his sunflower series do not precisely match every detail supplied by him. The first version differs in size, is painted on a size 20 canvas—not on a size 15 canvas as indicated—and all the others differ in the number of flowers depicted from van Gogh's announcement. The second was evidently enlarged and the initial composition altered by insertion of the two flowers lying in the foreground, center and right. Neither the third nor the fourth shows the dozen or 14 flowers indicated by the artist, but more—fifteen or sixteen. These alterations are executed wet-in-wet and therefore considered genuine rework—even the more so as they are copied to the repetitions of January 1889; there is no longer a trace of later alterations, at least in this aspect.

The fourth version of the painting was attacked on October 14, 2022 by environmental activists from the Just Stop Oil campaign, who threw tomato soup at it, while it was on display at National Gallery in London, before gluing their hands to the wall. The painting was covered with plexiglass, and it was unharmed with the exception of minor damage to the frame. The two activists were arrested and the painting was put back on display later that day. The two activists were found guilty of criminal damage in July 2024, and sentenced in September to 20 and 24 months in prison, respectively.

• Sunflowers (F453), first version: turquoise background
  Oil on canvas, 73.5 × 60 cm
  Private collection
• Sunflowers (F459), second version: royal-blue background
  Oil on canvas, 98 × 69 cm
  Formerly private collection, Ashiya, Japan, destroyed by US air raid of World War II on 6 August 1945
• Sunflowers (F456), third version: blue green background
  Oil on canvas, 91 × 72 cm
  Neue Pinakothek, Munich, Germany
• Sunflowers (F454), fourth version: yellow background
  Oil on canvas, 92.1 × 73 cm
  National Gallery, London, England

The Repetitions, January 1889

• Sunflowers (F455), repetition of the 3rd version
  Oil on canvas, 92 × 72.5 cm
  Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, United States.
• Sunflowers (F458), repetition of the 4th version (yellow background)
  Oil on canvas, 95 × 73 cm
  Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• Sunflowers (F457), replica of the 4th version (yellow green background)
  Oil on canvas, 100 × 76 cm
  Sompo Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan.

Both repetitions of the 4th version are no longer in their original state. In the Amsterdam version, a strip of wood was added at the top—probably by van Gogh himself. The Tokyo version, however, was enlarged on all sides with strips of canvas, which were added at a later time—presumably by the first owner, Émile Schuffenecker. The series is perhaps van Gogh's best known and most widely reproduced. In the 2000s, debate arose regarding the authenticity of one of the paintings, and it has been suggested that this version may have been the work of Émile Schuffenecker or of Paul Gauguin. Most experts, however, conclude that the work is genuine.

The Berceuse-Triptych

In January 1889, when Vincent had just finished the first repetitions of the Berceuse and the Sunflowers pendants, he told Theo: "I picture to myself these same canvases between those of the sunflowers, which would thus form torches or candelabra beside them, the same size, and so the whole would be composed of seven or nine canvases."

A definite hint for the arrangement of the triptych is supplied by van Gogh's sketch in a letter of July 1889.

Later that year, Vincent selected both versions for his display at Les XX, 1890.

The triptych was displayed as Vincent intended at the National Gallery in London in 2024, with the London and Philadelphia versions flanking the Boston Berceuse. The two Sunflowers paintings were again attacked by Just Stop Oil protestors.

Sunflowers, friendship and gratitude

Van Gogh began painting in late summer of 1888 and continued into the following year. One went to decorate his friend Paul Gauguin's bedroom. The paintings show sunflowers in all stages of life, from full bloom to withering. The paintings were considered innovative for their use of the yellow spectrum, partly because newly invented pigments made new colors possible.

In a letter to Theo, Vincent wrote:

"It's a type of painting that changes its aspect a little, which grows in richness the more you look at it. Besides, you know that Gauguin likes them extraordinarily. He said to me about them, among other things: ‘that — ... that's... the flower’. You know that Jeannin has the peony, Quost has the hollyhock, but I have the sunflower, in a way."

Subsequent history

On March 30, 1987, Japanese insurance magnate Yasuo Goto paid the equivalent of US$39,921,750 for van Gogh's Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers at auction at Christie's London, at the time a record-setting amount for a work of art. The price was over three times the previous record of about $12 million paid for Andrea Mantegna's Adoration of the Magi in 1985. The record was broken a few months later with the purchase of another van Gogh, Irises, by Alan Bond for $53.9 million at Sotheby's, New York on November 11, 1987.

While it is uncertain whether Yasuo Goto bought the painting himself or on behalf of his company, the Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Japan, the painting currently resides at Seiji Togo Yasuda Memorial Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. After the purchase, a controversy arose whether this is a genuine van Gogh or an Émile Schuffenecker forgery.

Provenances

Two Paris versions van Gogh exchanged with Gauguin in December 1887 or January 1888, were both sold to Ambroise Vollard: one in January 1895 and the other in April 1896. The first canvas resided for a short time with Félix Roux, but was reacquired by Vollard and sold to Degas, then from his estate to Rosenberg, then to Hahnloser and bequested to the Kunstmuseum Bern. The second was acquired by the Dutch collector Hoogendijk at the sale of his collection by Kann, who ceded the painting to Richard Bühler and then via Thannhauser to the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Two of van Gogh's Sunflowers paintings never left the artist's estate: the study for one of the Paris versions (F377) and the repetition of fourth version (F458). Both are in the possession of the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, established 1962 by Vincent Willem van Gogh, the artist's nephew, and on permanent loan to the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Five other versions are recorded in the van Gogh estate papers:

• the final Paris version (F.452) in the artist's estate was sold 1909 via C. M. van Gogh, The Hague (J. H. de Bois) to Kröller-Müller
• (F457) sold 1894 to Émile Schuffenecker. (Tokyo version).
• (F456) sold 1905 via Paul Cassirer to Hugo von Tschudi. (Munich version).
• (F459) sold 1908 C. M. van Gogh (J. H. de Bois), The Hague to Fritz Meyer-Fierz, Zürich (destroyed by U.S. air raid in Japan on 6 August 1945).
• (F454) sold 1924 via Ernest Brown & Phillips (The Leicester Galleries) to the Tate Gallery; since on permanent loan to the National Gallery, London. (London version).

Two Arles versions left the artist's estate unrecorded:

• (F453) (private collection). Sold 1891 to Octave Mirbeau, Paris, (via Tanguy, Paris) for £12 (about £1,300 in 2013 £). Sold 1996 to a private collector for an undisclosed sum.
• (F455) (Philadelphia version).

See also

• List of works by Vincent van Gogh

References

1. Wildenstein
2. Selfportrait à l'ami Gauguin
3. "Letter 571 - Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh : 17 January 1889". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
4. Letter 666 Archived 2022-07-15 at the Wayback Machine To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 21 or Wednesday, 22 August 1888.
5. Dorn 1990, pp. 336–337
6. Dorn 1990, pp. 344–348
7. Dorn 1990, pp. 337–340; 340–343 and van Tilborgh & Hendricks, pp.
8. "UK: Climate protesters throw soup on van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'". The Associated Press. 13 October 2022. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
9. Low, Harry (25 July 2024). "JSO pair told to expect jail over soup on painting". BBC News. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
10. Croft, Alex (27 September 2024). "Just Stop Oil protesters who threw soup on Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting are jailed". The Independent. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
11. "Vincent van Gogh: The Paintings (Still Life: Vase with Five Sunflowers)". Archived from the original on 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2006-06-19.
12. "Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art". Archived from the original on 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
13. See Dorn 1999, pp.
14. Johnston, Bruce."Van Gogh's £25m Sunflowers is 'a copy by Gauguin' Archived 2017-09-09 at the Wayback Machine". The Daily Telegraph, 26 September 2001. Retrieved on 3 October 2009.
15. "Research confirms the authenticity of Yasuda Sunflowers Archived 2013-11-04 at the Wayback Machine". Van Gogh Museum, 7 February 2002. Retrieved on 19 October 2012.
16. "Van Gogh 'fake' declared genuine". BBC, 27 March 2002. Retrieved on 3 October 2009
17. "Letter 574 – Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh : 28 January 1889". Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
18. "Letter 592 – Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh : 22 May 1889". Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
19. Letter 573 Archived 2008-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
20. Letter 741 Archived 2016-09-29 at the Wayback Machine To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Tuesday, 22 January 1889.
21. Clines, Francis X. (1987-03-31). "Van Gogh Sets Auction Record: $39.9 million". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
22. Dorn 1999 and Stolwijk & Veenenbos 2002
23. Bailey, 2013, p. 202

Sources

• Bailey, Martin: The Sunflowers Are Mine: The Story of Van Gogh's Masterpiece, Frances Lincoln Limited (2013), ISBN 978-0-7112-3298-3
• Dorn, Roland: "Décoration": Vincent van Gogh's Werkreihe für das Gelbe Haus in Arles, Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim, Zürich & New York, 1990, pp. 58–61, 73–80, 113–117, 335–348, 455–462 ISBN 3-487-09098-8
• Hoffmann, Konrad: Zu van Goghs Sonnenblumenbildern, Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 31, 1968, pp. 27–58
• Eliza Rathbone; et al., eds. (2013). Van Gogh Repetitions. The Phillips Collection. ISBN 978-0-300-19082-3.
• Stolwijk, Chris, & Veenenbos, Han: The account book of Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam & Primavera Press, Leiden 2002 ISBN 90-74310-82-6
• Tellegen, Annet: Vincent en Gauguin: schilderijenruil in Paris, Museumjournaal 11, 1966, pp. 42–45
• Van Tilborgh, Louis & Hendriks, Ella: The Tokyo 'Sunflowers': a genuine repetition by Van Gogh or a Schuffenecker forgery?, Van Gogh Museum Journal 2001, pp. 17–43
• Welsh-Ovcharov, Bogomila: The Ownership of Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers', The Burlington Magazine, March 1998, pp. 184–192

External links

• Sunflowers on Google Art Project
• Sunflowers at vggallery.com, the complete series of paintings.
• Sunflowers, vangoghgallery.com, offers an analysis of two sunflower paintings.
• The Munich version of Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers at Neue Pinakothek on bavarikon
• Van Gogh, paintings and drawings: a special loan exhibition, a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on these paintings (see index)
• Sunflowers (Van Gogh) - Video - Check123 Video Encyclopedia

• 1887 paintings
• 1888 paintings
• 1889 paintings
• Paintings in the National Gallery, London
• Paintings by Vincent van Gogh
• Series of paintings by Vincent van Gogh
• Still life paintings by Vincent van Gogh
• Collection of the Van Gogh Museum
• Paintings of Arles by Vincent van Gogh
• Flower paintings
• Paintings in the Philadelphia Museum of Art
• Collection of the Neue Pinakothek
• Vandalized works of art in the United Kingdom
• Oil on canvas paintings
• Helianthus