# Van Gogh Painting Sunflowers [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [GAUGUIN, Paul]() - Date: 1851-1900 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 73 x 91 cm ## Commentary In October 1888, Gauguin went to Arles on Vincent van Gogh's invitation, to try and build up an artists' community which van Gogh had long dreamed to create. Gauguin arrived on October 20. By December 25, all hopes had vanished, all plans were annihilated. There was the often told tragedy, van Gogh's abortive murderous attempt, when he slashed his own ear. Gauguin fled without ever seeing again his tempestuous friend, who was always to feel bitter about this. Gauguin painted the unflattering portrait of van Gogh during his stay at Arles. In this painting Gauguin has once again adopted the high viewpoint he had used in Still-Life with Three Puppies, which allows him to flatten the subject and treat it with the cloisonné style he had formulated in Brittany with Bernard. The subject, in particular the background, is treated as a configuration of flat colours, each compartmentalized and simplified, as in the enamel work from which. the style derived its name. ## Related artworks - [A Vase of Flowers]() - [Above the Abyss]() - [Adam and Eve \(Flight\) - Tahitian Couple Walking]() - [Aha oe feii? \(Are you jealous?\)]() - [Aita tamari vahine Judith te parari \(Annah, the Javanese Woman\)]() - [And the Gold of Their Bodies \(Et l'or de leurs corps\)]() - [Barbarian Music]() - [Bathing Women at a Tree]() - [Be Mysterious]() - [Blue Trees]() - [Bonjour, Monsieur Gauguin]() - [Bouquet of Flowers]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()