The Van Gogh Gallery Blog

Other Sunflower Paintings by Van Gogh

Sonya — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:01:44 +0000

During the August and September, when sunflowers are a hearty flower common in many areas, it is hard not to be reminded of Van Gogh. Sunflowers have become an iconic symbol of the artist and his work. Sunflowers were a popular subject in Van Gogh’s paintings when he moved to Arles, France; many of them he created to decorate Paul Gauguin’s room in the Yellow House in Arles.

When writing to his brother Theo about Arles and the flowers in a letter from August 8, 1888, Van Gogh wrote

“Under the blue sky the orange, yellow, red splashes of the flowers take on an amazing brilliance, and in the limpid air there is a something or other happier, more lovely than in the North.”

It is not surprising that Van Gogh captured that happiness in some of his most famous Sunflower paintings which he created during his stay in Arles. His most commonly known Sunflower paintings are the Sunflowers and the Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, but he created several other lesser known Sunflower paintings. His earlier paintings containing sunflowers were done in Paris from 1886-1887. These paintings do not have the same vibrant yellows as the Arles series has, but show his early development of this subject. View a few of them here:

Letter Source:
http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/18/519.htm

Museums with Van Gogh Collections

Sonya — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:51:28 +0000

The summer is the perfect time to get out of the heat and take in some culture at a local museum. Fortunately, for Van Gogh lovers his works can be seen in museums all over the world. The largest collections can be found in The Netherlands including famous works like The Potato Eaters, Sunflowers and Almond Blossom. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo have the largest collections. Travel to Paris and see more of Van Gogh’s masterpieces like Starry Night Over the Rhone at the Musée d’Orsay or La Mousmé, Sitting at the Louvre. In London both the National Gallery and the Tate Modern have works by Van Gogh.

In New York, you can see Van Gogh’s Starry Night in person at the Museum of Modern Art or see several of his other paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If you are in Chicago the Art Institute of Chicago has several impressive Van Gogh pieces including The Bedroom.

And no matter where you are you can always view Van Gogh’s masterpieces by going to the Van Gogh Gallery catalog and filter by city, state, country or museum name to find the Van Goghs closest to you or just browse them online.

Adeline Ravoux

Sonya — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:18:42 +0000

At the end of his life, Van Gogh was living in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise, in France and staying in a small upstairs room at the Ravoux Inn. The Inn was owned and operated by the Ravoux family who had a daughter named Adeline. Adeline was a young girl when Vincent was living at the Ravoux Inn, but at the age of 76 she wrote a memoir of Van Gogh’s stay and the impression it made on her at a young age. Her fascinating account gives a very detailed depiction of Vincent at the end of his life. The following quotes are from this memoir.

“He was a man of good build, one shoulder slightly leaning on the side of his wounded ear, a very penetrating glance, gentle and calm, but not a very communicative character. When one spoke to him, he always replied with an agreeable smile.”

When commenting on the portrait that Van Gogh did of her Adeline said,

“I did not see a resemblance. Nevertheless, last year, someone who came to see me to talk about Van Gogh: the first time that they met me they recognized me from this portrait that Vincent had done and added: “This is not the youthful girl that you were that Vincent saw, but the woman that you would become.” Neither of my parents really appreciated this painting, nor did anyone else that saw it then. At this time very few people understood the paintings of Van Gogh.”

Read her full account here including Adeline’s record of Vincent’s final days.

Bedroom in Arles by Van Gogh

Sonya — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:29:31 +0000

In October of 1888, while living in The Yellow House in Arles, Van Gogh completed one of his most famous works The Bedroom. Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles has a striking combination of colors that Van Gogh was proud of. In a letter to his brother Theo from 1888, Van Gogh wrote:

“The walls are pale violet. The floor is of red tiles. The wood of the bed and chairs is the yellow of fresh butter, the sheets and pillows very light greenish-citron. The coverlet scarlet. The window green. The toilet table orange, the basin blue. The doors lilac.”

Today the original version of The Bedroom is at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam although it is currently undergoing restoration. While it is being restored; however, you can follow the entire restoration process on the Van Gogh Museum’s Bedroom Secrets blog.

There are also two other versions of The Bedroom which Van Gogh painted. One now hangs in The Art Institute of Chicago. This one Van Gogh created in September of 1889 as a back-up copy of the first Bedroom painting. The third version is located in Paris at the Musee d’Orsay and was created as a smaller version Van Gogh painted for his mother and sister.

Letter Source
Letter to Theo Van Gogh, October 1888

Van Gogh Prints

Sonya — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:33:38 +0000

We are thrilled to announce the launch our new Van Gogh Gallery Store! Now not only is the Van Gogh Gallery the place to find information about Van Gogh’s life and works, but now we are pleased to be bringing our visitors an extensive selection of Van Gogh prints in our Van Gogh collection. We have received countless emails over the years asking where to find particular Van Gogh prints, so we wanted to be able to bring a wide selection of prints directly to our visitors from our site. The new Van Gogh Gallery store is organized for easy browsing with categories for Van Gogh Florals, Van Gogh Landscapes, Van Gogh Portraits, Starry Night Prints and Post Impressionism. In addition to the Van Gogh collection available on the store, there are works by many other famous artists to fit any décor or style. From the works of Klimt, Picasso and Dali to Vintage art, Modern and Pop art prints, we are happy to offer our visitors many fine art works that are ideal for framing or transferring to canvas to compliment your personal taste.

Start Shopping for Art Prints