Vase with Three Sunflowers

Vincent van Gogh

Oil on canvas

Private Collection (formerly Sunflower series dispersed)

Vase with Three Sunflowers is the first in Van Gogh's celebrated series of sunflower paintings executed in Arles, France, in August 1888. The composition presents three large sunflower heads arranged in a green vase against a cool turquoise background, rendered with the artist's characteristic bold, direct brushwork and thick application of paint. Van Gogh, a Dutch Post-Impressionist, produced this work during one of the most intensely creative periods of his career, driven by his fascination with color, light, and the expressive potential of still life. The sunflower series as a whole stands among the most iconic achievements of Post-Impressionist painting, celebrated for its radical use of monochromatic color harmonies and emotionally charged mark-making.