‘Sunflowers’, Vincent van Gogh, January 1889
One of the world?s most famous paintings Sunflowers (1889) has been carefully investigated, explored and restored for Van Gogh and the Sunflowers: A Masterpiece Examined at the Van Gogh Museum.
Follow LUX on Instagram: the.official.lux.magazine
As one of five sunflower paintings by Van Gogh, it is an iconic image of nineteenth century art and an important marker in still life painting. Yet, this latest exhibition transforms our view of the work by framing the masterpiece within its wide ranging and complex history.
Installation image of ‘Van Gogh and the Sunflowers’ at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Photo by Jan-Kees Steenman
On display are Van Gogh?s other flower paintings (not all sunflowers), the afterlife of the painting, its far-reaching influence, but also details of its recent conservation work. Most striking are the reconstructions by Charlotte Caspers, smaller canvases which copy views of the painting, using the same materials. These zoomed in views of the dying flower heads and of Van Gogh’s signature reveal the painting’s original colours, made up of brighter reds, pale lilacs and vivid chrome yellow. Through Casper?s work alongside the museum?s conservation team we are transported back to 1889 and the work?s conception. We are also shown x-ray images of the Sunflowers, revealing an added strip of canvas at the top of the painting, which Van Gogh used to correct the placement of the...