van gogh painted two paintings of sunflowers.
how many paintings of sunflowers did van gogh paint?
two
two of van gogh's "sunflowers" paintings never left the artist's estate: the study for one of the paris versions (f377) and the repetition of fourth version (f458). both are in the possession of the vincent van gogh foundation, established 1962 by vincent willem van gogh, the artist's nephew, and on permanent loan to the van gogh museum, amsterdam.





















































five other versions are recorded in the van gogh estate papers:





















































bullet::::- the final paris version (f.452) in the artist's estate was sold 1909 via c. m. van gogh, the hague (j. h. de bois) to kröller-müller
sunflowers (van gogh series)
cross’ project has focussed on selecting seven global sites which have either a connection to sunflower agriculture or an affiliation with the artist vincent van gogh. during his time in arles, between 1888 and 1889, van gogh created seven different, but similarly themed, still life paintings depicting sunflowers in a vase. the artist originally intended to paint twelve panels of sunflowers to decorate the yellow house at arles. emerald’s big easel is a copy of the repetition van gogh made of the fourth version of his "sunflowers" (1888), which is currently part of the national gallery of london’s collection. van gogh came to think of the sunflower as a type of artistic signature, stating in a letter to his brother, theo van gogh, in january 1889, "you know that jeannin has the peony, quost has the hollyhock, but i have the sunflower, in a way." the symbolic significance of the sunflower to van gogh as an artist is reflected in the van gogh project. in cross’ view, van gogh associated the sunflower with life, symbolising the possibilities of hope and renewal. in this way, the big easel emerges as a tribute to both van gogh’s "sunflowers" painting, as well as to emerald’s local sunflower agriculture and its annual central highlands easter sunflower festival.
the big easel, emerald, central queensland