Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers (Philadelphia Version)

Sunflowers (Philadelphia Version) is the still life of twelve sunflowers that Vincent van Gogh painted in 1889, a repetition of his Munich sunflowers of August 1888: yellow and orange flower heads in a two-coloured vase on an ochre table, against a light turquoise wall. The original, oil on canvas, 92.4 x 71.1 cm, belongs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in 16 sizes from 40 x 50 to 151 x 190 cm or to your own measurements, and send you a photograph of the finished painting for approval before dispatch.

Sunflowers (Philadelphia Version) – Vincent van Gogh

What does Sunflowers (Philadelphia Version) show?

A bunch of sunflowers fills the upper two thirds of the canvas, far wider than its vase. Across the top, open flowers turn their spiky yellow petals in every direction: one at the top left with a small greenish centre, two near the top whose dark brown centres are turned partly away from us, and one on the right whose dark eye sits inside a bright red-orange ring. Lower down, heavy heads of thick ochre and orange strokes press against each other, some with grey-green centres. On the left one flower is seen from behind, a deep crimson head framed by pointed green sepals, and at the lower right a small head hangs down over the edge of the vase on a curved stem.

The vase is yellow ochre in its upper part and lilac below, outlined in orange-red, and where the two colours meet the name Vincent is painted in red. It stands on an ochre table edged at the back by a thin orange line. The wall behind is a light turquoise laid on in short, crossing strokes, so the whole painting is held in two colour families: yellows and oranges against blue-green.

Why did Van Gogh paint the sunflowers a second time?

According to the English Wikipedia article on the Sunflowers series, he painted four sunflower still lifes in Arles in August 1888 and in January 1889 made three repetitions: this one after the twelve-flower canvas now in Munich, and two after the fifteen-flower canvas now in London.

In the same month, Wikipedia notes, he had just finished the first repetitions of his Berceuse and the sunflower pendants, and he told Theo that he imagined the Berceuse canvases between those of the sunflowers, which would form ‘torches or candelabra’ beside them. The Philadelphia Museum of Art adds that he painted this canvas from memory, in the depths of winter; in August 1888 he had worked fast because the flowers were destined to wilt.

What did sunflowers mean to Van Gogh?

In the museum’s words, the shapes, the colours and the cheerfulness of the modest flower appealed to him, and he painted sunflowers again and again throughout his ten-year career. The museum also writes that he associated its yellow with sunshine, the south and Christ, the light of the world.

Wikipedia describes the sunflowers as part of the painted decoration he prepared for the guest room of the Yellow House, where Paul Gauguin was supposed to stay. The museum sees the Philadelphia canvas as far from a simple copy: in its reading, the repetition is a new interpretation that gives each flower a pronounced personality.

Where is the original today, and how did it get there?

The original is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, under accession number 1963-116-19, as The Mr. and Mrs. Carroll S. Tyson, Jr., Collection, 1963. The museum dates it 1889 and gives oil on canvas, 92.4 x 71.1 cm; Wikipedia lists it as F 455, 92 x 72.5 cm.

The museum’s provenance traces the painting from the Van Gogh brothers to Paul Gauguin, who acquired it by gift or exchange in late May or early June 1889, and on to the Paris dealer Ambroise Vollard in 1896; it adds that Louis van Tilborgh and Ella Hendriks dispute this early sequence and propose that the canvas was still with the Van Gogh family at the end of 1890. Later owners include Comte Antoine de La Rochefoucauld and Carroll S. Tyson, Jr., of Philadelphia, who bought it in 1928; it came to the museum as a bequest in 1963.

Sunflowers (Philadelphia Version) or Sunflowers II – which is which?

Both show twelve sunflowers in a vase. Sunflowers II is the canvas in the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, painted in Arles in August 1888 with the flowers in front of him; Wikipedia calls its background blue-green, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, describing the Munich canvas, calls it turquoise. The canvas offered here is the repetition of January 1889, now in Philadelphia, which the museum calls a variation on the Munich work rather than a copy. Sunflowers I is the London canvas in the National Gallery: fifteen sunflowers against a yellow background. The Yellow House shows the house in Arles that the sunflower decoration was meant for, and Irises is a flower painting from May 1889, made in the asylum garden at Saint-Rémy.

Choose Sunflowers II for the August 1888 canvas painted with the flowers in front of him, this one for the later version with the lilac and yellow vase signed Vincent, Sunflowers I for yellow on yellow, The Yellow House for the place and Irises for blue-violet flowers.

How is our hand-painted Sunflowers (Philadelphia Version) made?

The painter first draws the outline of the vase, the edge of the table and the circles of the twelve flower heads, and checks the proportions against the original. Then come the turquoise wall in short crossing strokes, the ochre table, the yellow and lilac vase with its orange-red outline, the stems and leaves, and last the flowers: pointed petals one by one, dense centres in short dabs, the red ring on the right, the crimson head on the left. Our oil painting reproduction is painted by hand on canvas, with real impasto: the paint goes on thickly, so the brushstrokes stand up from the canvas as they do in the original and catch the light.

On our version the relief shows most in the petals and the heavy centres, in the horizontal strokes on the body of the vase and in the crossing strokes of the background. A print is completely flat; on our painting every brushstroke stands out in real paint.

Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are quite the same.

Which size for which wall?

Short answer: 40 x 50 or 51 x 65 cm for a narrow wall in a hallway or a kitchen, 60 x 80 or 70 x 90 cm above a chest of drawers or a bed, and 100 x 130 or 120 x 150 cm above a sofa or on a large wall.

There are 16 sizes: 40 x 50, 50 x 62, 51 x 65, 56 x 70, 60 x 80, 70 x 90, 80 x 100, 85 x 105, 90 x 113, 100 x 130, 110 x 140, 120 x 150, 127 x 160, 134 x 170, 142 x 180 and 151 x 190 cm (width x height). The original is about 71 cm wide and 92 cm high, so our 70 x 90 cm is almost exactly its size, and 100 x 130 cm keeps its upright proportions closely. The turquoise and the yellows look best on a white, cream or light grey wall and sit well with natural wood. A painting for the living room should cover about two thirds of the width of the furniture below it.

Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor. Above a sofa, a bed or a sideboard, leave 20 to 30 cm between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the canvas.

What if I need a custom size or a frame?

If none of the 16 sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure in any width and height you need. Send us the width and height you want and we will quote you a price and a delivery time. Every painting we make is mounted on a wooden stretcher, ready to hang.

Our 3D app shows each of our frame profiles on this painting, so you can compare gold, silver, black, white and natural wood. The app is for choosing the frame only. To see the painting on your own wall, use our separate room placement service. A gold frame warms the ochre table and the petals, while a white or pale wood one lets the turquoise wall stay cool.

How does delivery work, and what is the guarantee?

Every painting is made to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size you choose. We ship it on its stretcher, carefully packed (and framed, if you chose a frame), across the EU with no customs duty. Before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting to approve. Our returns policy applies to every order.

You will find more of Van Gogh’s famous works among all our Vincent van Gogh paintings, and more about the painter in our article on Vincent van Gogh. If it is a present and you are not sure of the size, a wall art voucher lets the recipient choose.

Frequently asked questions

Where are the Philadelphia Sunflowers today?

In the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, under accession number 1963-116-19. The museum’s credit line is The Mr. and Mrs. Carroll S. Tyson, Jr., Collection, 1963: Tyson bought the canvas in 1928 and it came to the museum as a bequest in 1963.

When did Van Gogh paint the Philadelphia Sunflowers?

In 1889, in Arles. Wikipedia places it among the three repetitions he painted in January 1889, after the four sunflower still lifes of August 1888. The Philadelphia Museum of Art writes that he painted it from memory, in the depths of winter, so there were no fresh sunflowers in front of him this time.

Are the Philadelphia Sunflowers a copy of the Munich painting?

It is Van Gogh’s own repetition of the Munich canvas, not a copy by another hand. Wikipedia calls it the repetition of the third version, the twelve-flower canvas in the Neue Pinakothek. The Philadelphia Museum of Art calls it a variation on the Munich work and, in its words, far from a simple copy: a new interpretation that gives each flower a pronounced personality.

How many versions of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in a vase are there?

Wikipedia lists seven Arles canvases: four from August 1888, with three, five, twelve and fifteen flowers, and three repetitions from January 1889. The five-flower canvas was destroyed in 1945. The repetitions are this twelve-flower canvas in Philadelphia and two fifteen-flower canvases, in Amsterdam and Tokyo.

Why did Van Gogh link sunflowers with sunshine and the south?

According to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the shapes, colours and cheerfulness of the modest flower appealed to him, and he associated its yellow with sunshine, the south and Christ, the light of the world. In Arles they were also meant as a decoration for the guest room of the Yellow House, where Gauguin was supposed to stay, as Wikipedia notes.

How big is the original of the Philadelphia Sunflowers?

92.4 cm high and 71.1 cm wide, according to the museum; Wikipedia gives 92 x 72.5 cm. It is an upright still life, and our 70 x 90 cm size is almost the same as the original. There are 16 sizes from 40 x 50 to 151 x 190 cm, and we also paint it to measure in any width and height.

Which size of Sunflowers (Philadelphia Version) suits a living room?

Above a sofa, choose 100 x 130 or 120 x 150 cm, so that the canvas painting covers a good part of the width of the sofa and the twelve flowers read clearly from across the room. Above a sideboard or on a narrower wall, 70 x 90 or 80 x 100 cm works well. For a very large wall, choose our largest size, 151 x 190 cm.

Does your Sunflowers (Philadelphia Version) have the raised brushstrokes of the original?

Yes. We paint it in impasto, building up each brushstroke in thick oil, so the surface is raised like Van Gogh’s original. You see this best in the pointed petals, in the heavy centres built from short dabs and in the horizontal strokes on the vase, where the relief catches the light from the side.

• Subject: twelve sunflowers in a yellow and lilac vase signed Vincent, on an ochre table, against a light turquoise wall.
• Original: 1889, Arles, oil on canvas, 92.4 x 71.1 cm, F 455, Philadelphia Museum of Art.
• Ours: a Van Gogh reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 16 sizes from 40 x 50 to 151 x 190 cm or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: each painting is made to order, so allow 15 to 45 days, and our 3D app lets you try every frame on this painting before you order.