Vase with 12 Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh

Vase with 12 Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh, oil on canvas 1888 or 1889, is a still life painting of a dozen sunflowers set in a large vase against a cool grey background. Painted in thick strokes of heavy impasto oil paint, the sunflowers are draw in an emphatic, expressionistic manner that captures the character and inner life of each individual sunflower. A range of warm yellows, oranges and reds contrast with the cooler grey tones of the vase and background, the flattened forms bringing out a symphonic blend of similar, heightened colours. Van Gogh painted this as part of a series of sunflower paintings to decorate his Yellow House studio home in Arles in the south of France. Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890) was a Dutch painter of the Post-Impressionist movement known for bold, expressive drawing, swirling brushstrokes and intense, heightened colours. In early adulthood Van Gogh worked as an art dealer, teacher and pastor before taking up the full time study of drawing and painting in his late twenties. Influenced by Rembrandt, the 19th century Realists and Barbizon school, Van Gogh’s early paintings featured studies of workers and peasants in sombre earth tones. Moving to France in 1886, Van Gogh met with the startling innovations of the Impressionist painters and began to apply their approach to colour and subject matter, which continued into the mature style for which the artist is most renowned. Van Gogh produced many hundreds of drawings and paintings including portraits, landscapes, still life and flower paintings, and numerous self-portraits that became a dominating influence on the modern art of the 20th century and made him one of the most popular artists of all time.