Description
Three Sunflowers in a Vase is one of the sunflower still lifes Vincent van Gogh painted in Arles in August 1888: three large sunflowers in a bright green vase on a reddish-brown table, against a turquoise background. The original, oil on canvas, measures about 73 x 58 cm and is in a private collection; the English Wikipedia lists it as the first version among his sunflower still lifes of that month. 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.
| Title: | Three Sunflowers in a Vase |
| Other titles: | Vase with Three Sunflowers · Sunflowers in a Vase |
| Painter: | Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) |
| Year painted: | August 1888, Arles |
| Original size: | 73 cm x 58 cm (also given as 73.5 cm x 60 cm) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Post-Impressionism |
| Located at: | Private collection |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 16 sizes or made to measure |
Three Sunflowers in a Vase – Vincent van Gogh
What does Three Sunflowers in a Vase show?
Three sunflowers stand in a green vase on a table, set against a flat turquoise wall. At the top right a fully open flower on a long, dark stem faces us: a ring of bright yellow petals around a dark brown and red centre. On the left a second, wider flower turns slightly aside, its brownish centre framed by ragged yellow and orange petals. In front, in the middle, the third flower is a thick, round head of short orange and yellow strokes, with no clear centre.
A large pale green leaf curves out to the right, olive leaves hang down on the left of the vase, and near the top flower a single dark blue leaf stands against the turquoise. The vase is a vivid green, white along its lower part, with a few white touches of light on its body. The table top is reddish brown, covered in short horizontal dashes of yellow, ochre, lilac and white that grow thicker towards the front edge.
How did Van Gogh describe Three Sunflowers in a Vase in his letter?
In his letter to Theo of 21 or 22 August 1888, written in Arles, he says he is painting ‘with the gusto of a Marseillais eating bouillabaisse’, and names first ‘3 large flowers in a green vase, light background (no. 15 canvas)’.
The editors of the letters identify the first canvas as this painting, F 453 / JH 1559, 73 x 58 cm, in a private collection, and add that Van Gogh is mistaken about the size. Wikipedia puts it plainly: the canvas is a size 20, not a size 15.
Why did Van Gogh paint sunflowers in Arles?
He wanted them for a decoration. In the same letter he writes: ‘I’d like to do a decoration for the studio. Nothing but large Sunflowers.’ If he carried out the plan, he went on, there would be a dozen or so panels, and ‘the whole thing will therefore be a symphony in blue and yellow’. According to Wikipedia, the sunflowers became part of the painted decoration of the Yellow House, prepared for the guest room in Arles where Paul Gauguin was supposed to stay.
Wikipedia lists four sunflower still lifes from August 1888: three flowers on turquoise (this one), five flowers on royal blue, destroyed in Japan in a US air raid on 6 August 1945, twelve flowers on blue-green in the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, and fifteen flowers on yellow in the National Gallery in London.
Where is the original today?
The original is in a private collection. The English Wikipedia article on the Sunflowers series gives its history in two lines: it was sold in 1891, through Tanguy, to Octave Mirbeau in Paris, and in 1996 it was sold to a private collector for an undisclosed sum. Its present owner is not public.
It is oil on canvas; the editors of the letters give 73 x 58 cm, Wikipedia 73.5 x 60 cm.
Three Sunflowers in a Vase or another Van Gogh sunflower – which should you choose?
Our range has two more of the Arles still lifes from August 1888. Sunflowers I is the National Gallery canvas in London: fifteen sunflowers in a vase against a yellow background. Sunflowers II is the Neue Pinakothek canvas in Munich: twelve sunflowers against a blue-green background. Both originals are larger, about 92 x 73 and 91 x 72 cm. Two Cut Sunflowers is earlier, from his Paris years, with two flower heads lying cut, not standing in a vase. The Yellow House shows his house in Arles, the house the sunflower decoration was meant for.
Choose this canvas for three large flowers, a turquoise ground and a calm, open composition; Sunflowers I for a full, warm yellow bouquet; Sunflowers II for a dense bouquet on cool blue-green; The Yellow House for the place itself.
How is our hand-painted Three Sunflowers in a Vase made?
The painter first sketches the vase, the edge of the table and the three flower heads, and checks the proportions against the original. Then comes the turquoise background in loose strokes, after it the green vase with its white band, then the leaves, and last the three flowers: the petals one by one, the dark centre of the top flower, the dense round head in front. 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 thick centres of the flowers, in the dashes on the table top and in the white touches on the vase. 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 58 to 60 cm wide and 73 cm high, so our 56 x 70 and 60 x 80 cm sizes come closest to it, and 40 x 50, 80 x 100, 120 x 150 and 151 x 190 cm keep its upright proportions. 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 picks up the yellow petals, while a white or natural wood one keeps the turquoise background fresh.
How does delivery work, and what is the guarantee?
Every painting is made to order in our studio, 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 is the original Three Sunflowers in a Vase today?
In a private collection. According to the English Wikipedia, the painting was sold in 1891 to Octave Mirbeau in Paris, through Tanguy, and in 1996 to a private collector for an undisclosed sum. The name of the present owner is not public. The painting is oil on canvas, made in Arles in August 1888, and carries the number F 453 in the catalogue of his work.
When and where did Van Gogh paint Three Sunflowers in a Vase?
In Arles, in the south of France, in August 1888. In a letter to his brother Theo of 21 or 22 August 1888 he names it as the first of three canvases he was working on: ‘3 large flowers in a green vase, light background’. The editors of the letters identify that canvas as this painting, F 453.
Is Three Sunflowers in a Vase the first of the Arles sunflowers?
The English Wikipedia lists it as the first version among the sunflower still lifes of August 1888, with a turquoise background. It was followed by five flowers on royal blue, twelve flowers on blue-green, the Munich canvas, and fifteen flowers on yellow, the London canvas. In his letter of 21 or 22 August 1888 Van Gogh lists it first of the three canvases he was then working on.
How do the London and Munich Sunflowers differ from Three Sunflowers in a Vase?
Mainly in the number of flowers, the background and the size. The London canvas has fifteen sunflowers on yellow and the Munich canvas twelve on blue-green, and both measure about 92 by 73 cm. Three Sunflowers in a Vase has three large flowers on turquoise in a green vase and is a smaller canvas, about 73 by 58 cm.
What did Van Gogh plan to do with his sunflowers?
He wanted a decoration. In his letter of 21 or 22 August 1888 he wrote that he would like to decorate the studio with ‘nothing but large Sunflowers’, a dozen or so panels, ‘a symphony in blue and yellow’. According to Wikipedia, the sunflowers became part of the decoration of the Yellow House in Arles, for the guest room where Gauguin was supposed to stay.
How big is the original Three Sunflowers in a Vase?
About 73 cm high and 58 to 60 cm wide: the editors of the letters give 73 x 58 cm, Wikipedia 73.5 x 60 cm. It is an upright format, smaller than the London and Munich sunflowers. Our 56 x 70 and 60 x 80 cm sizes are closest to it. There are 16 sizes from 40 x 50 to 151 x 190 cm, and we also paint it to measure.
Which size of Three Sunflowers in a Vase 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 three 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 Three Sunflowers in a Vase 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 petals, in the thick round head of the front flower and in the dashes of colour on the table top, where the relief catches the light from the side.
- Subject: three large sunflowers in a bright green vase on a reddish-brown table, against a turquoise background, with one dark blue leaf near the top.
- Original: August 1888, Arles, oil on canvas, about 73 x 58 cm, F 453, private collection.
- 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.
