The Sunflowers are among the most famous paintings by Van Gogh. He made them in Arles, in the South of France, in 1888 and 1889. In total he painted five large canvases of sunflowers in a vase, with three shades of yellow 'and nothing else'. For example, he showed that it was possible to create a performance with many variants of one color without sacrificing expressiveness.
His paintings of sunflowers had special significance for Van Gogh. They expressed "gratitude," he wrote. He hung the first two in the room of his friend Paul Gauguin, the painter who came to live with him for a while in the Yellow House. Gauguin was impressed by the sunflowers, which he thought were 'all Vincent'. Van Gogh had already painted a new version during his friend's stay and later Gauguin asked for a gift. Van Gogh didn't feel much for that. He did, however, make two free repeats, one of which is in the Van Gogh Museum.