Sunflowers
Sunflowers (various), 1888-1889
Vincent Van Gogh
Oil on Canvas
Arles, France
Vincent Van Gogh
Oil on Canvas
Arles, France
Among Van Gogh’s paintings, the sunflowers of Arles are some of his most known artwork. He painted a variety of sunflowers in vases that are in different shades of yellow between 1888 and 1889. The sunflower paintings had a particular significance for Van Gogh; he wrote they communicate ‘gratitude.’
The Sunflower: (Helianthus Annuus) is only native to North America, the sunflowers earliest domestication was by the Native Americans in Mexico around 2600 BC and later found in Tennessee about 2300 BC and Kentucky. Many of the natives, like the Aztec and Incas, used them as a symbol to their sun deity. The sunflower was colonized after the Spanish explorers had come to America in 1500. Domesticated in Europe, the sunflower was the first houseplant, and soon became known for its strong oils for cooking and medical treatments.
By the 18th century, the sunflower and its oil were being manufactured across Europe and Russia. In 1880, the domestic Russian Sunflower had found its way back to North America, we assume by Russian immigrants. Over the years there have been sunflower breeding programs that developed to keep the sunflower alive and well and has created about 70 species of sunflowers.
As history goes, after the domestication of sunflowers across Europe and Russia the sunflower become a favorite flower not just for its mighty beauty but also for its practical uses like cooking and medicine. How sunflowers got to Arles is unknown, most likely through travel and trade. But whatever happened, the sunflower brought great joy to Van Gogh through beauty, color, and meaning.