The painting "Sunflowers" is a famous masterpiece by Vincent Van Gogh

You do not need to be a connoisseur and art critic, so that when you say "sunflowers" you should remember the famous painting by the same name by the Dutch master, Vincent van Gogh. A series of works depicting this plant became the culmination of the artist's creativity. Initially, the painting "Sunflowers" was written by the master with the aim of decorating his home in Arles, in order to appear in a favorable light before a colleague and friend Paul Gauguin. The artist could not think that in the future this work will become his business card, and the original picture will be kept in the National Museum named after Van Gogh in Amsterdam.

Artist Biography

Vincent Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands - a country that has generated more than a dozen brilliant personalities in the field of art. His father and brother were priests, so the boy went in their footsteps and, after completing his studies, went to serve in the parish with the small Belgian town of Borinazh. Unquenchable thirst for justice and the ability to notice things hidden from the eyes of ordinary people have made Vincent an ardent fighter for justice. Working and being surrounded by dying miners from fatigue and poverty, he simply could not stand aside. Seeing the world in its true light, Van Gogh decides to devote himself to painting. For lack of means of subsistence and even more training, the beginning artist was engaged in self-education, only occasionally falling into the hands of professional masters. For the sake of justice, we note that none of them did not believe in Vincent's ability.

Why did sunflowers become the central element of Van Gogh's work?

The first serious work of the artist was created by him on the grounds of life in a mining town and was called "Potato Eaters". However, his most famous painting is "Sunflowers." According to biographical information about the artist, the happiest years of life were for the period of his residence in Arles. The nature of the town, the fields and the boundless sun seriously inspired Vincent. It was then that the picture "Sunflowers" appeared, followed by a whole cycle of works depicting a flower in various sketches.

The house in Arles was painted in the artist's favorite color - yellow, which, like a reflex, is reflected in all the significant canvases of Van Gogh. Inside the dwelling, the walls were white, which made the room even more sunny during the daytime. Vincent dreamed that his house became a haven for artists who could here hold creative gatherings and work on paintings. The South of France insanely inspired the impressionable Dutchman! One day, Vincent was expecting to visit his confidante in the trade and a good friend of Paul Gauguin. Wishing for his arrival to decorate the room, Vincent first paints sunflowers. Working hard to surprise his colleague with his creative successes, Van Gogh writes inspired letters to his brother Theo, in which he mentions his own passion for yellow and blue.

In August 1888, Vincent Van Gogh created five panels with a picture of sunflowers, but to this day only three of them have survived, and they are stored in London, Munich and Amsterdam.

Description of the picture "Sunflowers"

In terms of the classical canons of painting, Vincent Van Gogh can not boast of skill. However, over the years of hard work, he developed a personal manner of writing, which was reflected in his famous painting.

The picture "Sunflowers" completely absorbs the viewer's attention with his charismatic and large strokes. Visually the vase looks small for huge and obstinate sunflowers. As for the latter, they seem to seek to penetrate beyond the canvas, exploring the surrounding world and striving for the sweeping rays of the sun. The texture of the picture attracts attention with its relief. Smears are full of emotions. It seems that the artist was in a hurry to "pour himself" on the canvas, until he was carried away by a stormy fountain of sensual delight.

When the painting is closely examined, an illusion is created of the dynamism of sunflowers, as if they are swaying on the stems under the dense weight of petals and inflorescences.

Beautiful yellow color

The picture "Sunflowers" is a vivid proof of the fact that for the artist it did not matter whether the subject is animate or not. Everything in the world was for him a single matter, which was worthy to come to life under his brush. Each element of the composition of Van Gogh had his soul, which the artist depicted with the help of color and intense strokes.

Sunflower in the works of Vincent became the quintessence of everything. This plant lived according to the laws of nature and in its characteristic manner stretched to the sun's rays. It did not detract from the importance of the flower in the artist's mind and that it looked like a sun disc with falling radiant petals. Van Gogh repeatedly mentioned that yellow is the central element of the symphony of color. He embodied for him joy, hope, a smile - a complex of feelings and emotions, which is difficult to convey in words.

Even years later, when the artist left his yellow house in Arles and moved to the streets of Paris, in his paintings, he at the slightest hint of yellow color tried to multiply it, give it volume. All the works of Van Gogh, including his famous painting "Sunflowers", are full of passion and excess of feelings. The artist deliberately simplified the shape of objects, focusing on their color characteristics. His palette of yellow color looks as if every time before applying a smear, he opened his eyes wide and looked deep into the sun disc, exploring the fullness of the light.