Sunflowers

The background, table, vase and almost all the flowers are painted in yellow. Blooms in full flower, flowers beginning to wilt and flowers with prominent seeds are mixed, and each stem has a different look. Even within the same yellow, the range runs from lemon yellow to ochre and orange, and the brush marks of thickly laid paint convey the texture of the petals and seeds.

Vincent van Gogh moved to Arles in southern France in February 1888 and, planning a shared life with fellow painters, invited Paul Gauguin. He began the sunflower paintings to decorate the room in which he would welcome Gauguin.

This work is based on the Sunflowers in the National Gallery, London, which he painted in August of the same year. The colors and composition are the same, but the brushwork and tonality differ, showing that he did not simply copy it but repainted it after further thought. It is thought to have been made in late November to early December 1888, while he was living with Gauguin.

Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance (now Sompo Japan) bought this work in 1987 as a project to mark its 100th anniversary. It has been shown at the museum since October of that year, and it remains the signature work of the current Sompo Museum of Art, which opened in 2020.