1. Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

2. Vincent Van Gogh (1853 to 1890)
Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands. His best friend was his younger brother Theo.
Van Gogh worked as an art dealer, then a Minister. Later he took art classes and discovered that he was a fine painter so became an artist.
Van Gogh struggled with Epilepsy and possibly some other mental health conditions.
Van Gogh only sold one painting in his life. Now his art is priceless!

3. Van Gogh moves to the Yellow House
Van Gogh had been living in Paris, but took ill.
In 1988 he moved to Arles, a country area in Provence in France.
He loved the colours and the light. He often walked for hours though the corn fields and painted the landscape.
Van Gogh lived in this Yellow House. He wanted to turn it into a commune for other artists. He invited his friend, another famous painter, Gauguin, to stay.
Van Gogh and Gauguin belong to the artistic movement post-impressionism. It was an exciting, daring time for artists.
Van Gogh moves to the Yellow House

4. Gauguin was a post-impressionist and primitive painter.
He became friends with Van Gogh in Paris, and van Gogh’s brother Theo sold Gauguin’s art.
Van Gogh was a little in awe of Gauguin and his work, so it was exciting that his friend was coming to stay!

5. Sunflowers!
To welcome his friend, Van Gogh wanted to paint 12 paintings of Sunflowers to decorate Gauguin’s bedroom! Even though he painted very fast, he only managed to paint 4 by the time Gauguin arrived.
But he did paint copies of them, and in total he painted seven Sunflower paintings.

6. "I’m thinking of decorating my studio with half a dozen paintings of Sunflowers. A decoration in which harsh or broken yellows will burst against various blue backgrounds, from the palest Veronese to royal blue, framed with thin laths painted in orange lead. Sorts of effects of stained-glass windows of a Gothic church."
Letter by Van Gogh to Emile Bernard written 21 August 1888

7. #1 Three sunflowers in a vase
Van Gogh described this painting as
“3 large flowers in a green vase, light background”
It is currently in a Private Collection
The vase is probably just one of the pots Van Gogh kept his paintbrushes in.
He said he painted them in the mornings because the flowers quickly wilted in the heat of the day.

8. #3 Still Life: Vase with 12 sunflowers
This was the third version of his sunflowers, a contrast between beautiful golds, yellows and browns of the flowers and the aqua and turquoises of the background.
It is displayed in Munich in the New Pinakothek Museum.
“twelve flowers and buds in a yellow vase. So the last one is light on light, and will be the best, I hope.”

9. #4 Still Life: Vase with Fourteen Sunflowers
“I’m now on the fourth painting of sunflowers. This fourth one is a bouquet of 14 flowers and is on a yellow background.”
Van Gogh took medication for Epilepsy that affected the way he saw colours, especially yellow. Yellow sang in his eyes, so the fourth canvas must have been really joyous to him!
It is now held by the National Gallery in London

10. The lost Sunflower #2 Still Life: Vase with 5 sunflowers
This painting was purchased by Japanese businessman Koyata Yamamoto for 20,000 Yen in 1920.
It was only ever exhibited twice because during the second exhibition its heavy frame made it fall off the wall and its owner was very upset!
But it was very, very popular and more visitors came to see Sunflowers than any of the other paintings it was exhibited with.

11. Disaster struck!
Yamamoto kept the Sunflowers hanging above his sofa in his lounge. This picture of him and a friend shows how heavy the frame looks.
During World War II he asked his bank to keep it safe for him, but they said no because their cellar was too damp.
At the end of the War his home was bombed. Whilst Yamamoto managed to escape, he was not able to carry his beloved painting. It was destroyed in the fire!

12. “the desire comes over me to remake myself and try to have myself forgiven for the fact that my paintings are, however, almost a cry of anguish while symbolizing gratitude in the rustic sunflower.”

13. Kelvindale Art Exhibition
The Sunflowers are currently on display in Kelvindale Railway Station.

14. This presentation is the property of @KelvindaleArt
@KelvindaleArt give permission for the presentation to be used for PURELY EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES must be acknowledged as the author and copyright holder.