‘Sunflowers’ (the fourth version) oil on canvas, (92.1 × 73cm) was painted at Provence, France, in 1888 when Vincent Van Gogh leased a house to live in with his friend Paul Gauguin and wanted to decorate his bedroom. The artist embarked on painting the flowers when he was forced to work indoors by a Mistra wind which made outdoor painting difficult. The painting shows sunflowers in all stages of life, from full bloom to withering and its colour palette is also very bold — a symphony in ochres, golds and shades of corn.

Van Gogh relished the fact that his sunflowers were very distinctive and told his brother Theo in January 1889 that while other artists were known for painting particular flowers, for instance, peonies and hollyhocks, the sunflower belonged to him. The painting is displayed in the National Gallery, London.— M.I.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 17th, 2014