Vincent van Gogh was not the first artist to paint still-life flowers and he certainly did not invent sunflowers. He did things so differently that it ...
Known as a very gloomy and mentally disturbed person, [ Van Gogh ](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/behind-the-art-cafe-terrace-at-night-1888-by-vincent-van-gogh-7916137/)was truly overjoyed by the sunflowers as they gave him hope for a better life. Another fact of the painting highlights how unstable the frame of mind of Van Gogh was before he cut off his ear: In Arles, Vincent rented quarters in what he called the Yellow House and furnished a room to accommodate Gauguin. [artwork](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/van-gogh-final-work-6529060/) represents the heart and soul of the artist. He hung the first two paintings in his friendโs room, the painter Paul Gauguin, who came to live with him for a while in the Yellow House. In their various stages of decay, these flowers also remind people of the cycle of life and death. Most of his masterpieces were made when he was going through psychosis in the mental asylum but sunflowers signified something else entirely for him. This way he showed the world that it was possible to paint something with numerous variations of a single colour, without any loss of articulateness. [Vincent van Gogh](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/behind-the-art-why-is-the-starry-night-by-vincent-van-gogh-so-iconic-8005662/) once hoped to sell this for a mere $125 when he was alive. [Van Gogh](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/behind-the-art-portrait-of-dr-gachet-by-van-gogh-1890-8088350/) started his series of Sunflowers on Monday 20 August 1888 and finished on Friday. Van Gogh was not the first artist to paint still-life flowers and he certainly did not invent sunflowers. Vincent van Gogh, the infamous Dutch painter was nothing short of a genius. Vincent wanted to be known as the painter of sunflowers and it is this passion that led him to make five different versions of sunflowers in a vase.