Sunflowers

Vincent van Gogh

Oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two cut sunflowers lie sprawled against a vivid cerulean background, their dry, curling petals rendered in thick, energetic strokes of ochre, gold, and rust. Painted in Paris in 1887, this intimate still life predates van Gogh's more famous vase-bound sunflower series and reveals his early fascination with the Japanese ukiyo-e prints he collected, especially in its bold outlines and flattened perspective. The textured impasto gives the flowers a tactile, almost sculptural presence, as if you could feel every withering petal. A striking example of van Gogh's restless experimentation before his move to Arles, this piece brings warmth and painterly intensity to any room.