Speakasso › Paintings › Sunflowers
Sunflowers
Vincent van Gogh, 1888
Fifteen sunflowers in a plain earthenware jug, some fresh, some wilting, some already gone to seed, against a yellow ground painted almost without shadow. Yellow on yellow: Van Gogh was proud that no one had done it before. He painted the series in Arles in August 1888 to decorate the room for Gauguin's arrival, working every morning before the blooms faded. To him the sunflower stood for gratitude and the sun. Versions now hang in London, Amsterdam, Munich, Tokyo and Philadelphia.
What is in the painting
- Yellow on yellow. Background, table and flowers are all shades of yellow, a little green and ochre.
- Different stages. Some blooms are open, some droop, others are just seed-heads.
- Signature on the jug. 'Vincent' is written in blue on the earthenware pot.
Did you know? In 1987 a Japanese insurance company paid nearly $40 million for one of the Sunflowers, three times the previous record for any painting.
About the painting
- Artist
- Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
- Year
- 1888
- Style
- Post-Impressionism
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 92.1 × 73 cm
- Where to see it
- National Gallery (one version), London
How to describe it in Speakasso
In Speakasso you describe the painting in your own words and an AI draws it again. These words are forbidden in this round — each one costs 15 points:
A description that scores high
A plain clay jug stands in the middle, stuffed with about fifteen big yellow blooms with brown seedy centers. Some are fresh and open, some droop and wilt, and some are just bare seed heads. The jug sits on a yellow ledge against a flat pale yellow wall, with a thin line where they meet. Yellow on yellow, with touches of ochre, green and a blue signature on the jug. Thick, rough oil paint strokes.
The tricky part: Call the flowers big yellow blooms with round brown seed centers, some drooping, and the container a plain clay jug.
The method behind it: what is painted first, then where things are, then colour and light, then the style. Read the full guide
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