Overview
Sunflowers 1888, oil on canvas, 91 cm. x 72 cm. Neue Pinakothek, Munich, Germany
In this lesson, students will:
- Analyze Sunflowers, by van Gogh, and learn how artists paint expressively
- Identify warm colors, circular shapes, and rough texture
- Draw round and oval shapes and straight and curving lines to make flowers and vases
- Paint still life of flowers, using a digital paint program
Lesson Teaching Notes
A document of summary pages on the lesson’s Key Concepts, Discussion Questions, Artist Points, and Project Directions.
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Class Discussion
Van Gogh painted these Expressionist sunflowers with large brushstrokes and thick impasto paint. He filled the vase and the canvas with bright, warm colors that contrast with the turquoise background. At the time Van Gogh painted this, people preferred realistic paintings, and they didn’t like this painting. But now most people love the happy, expressive flowers that seem to have personalities.
van Gogh first drew a sketch of an oval for the vase, then he drew the flowers in the arrangement. Next, he mixed the colors, using oil paint, and then he painted the canvas. He painted the flowers, one at a time, in a lively arrangement.
The flowers in this painting seem to have personalities. van Gogh arranged these flowers to make them appear lively. He painted the flowers one at a time, adding each one to fit into the arrangement. Some flower heads seem to look at us. Some flowers droop sadly. Some flowers stand tall like brave soldiers. Some flowers hide their faces, like shy people. Which flower is cheerful? Is there an angry or frightened flower? How many flowers are in the vase?
A still life painting shows objects that are still and cannot move on their own. van Gogh liked to paint still-life compositions because he could arrange the objects in pleasing ways. The flowers show the warmth of fall. In winter, after the sunflowers are gone, the lively flowers in this painting will still be blooming.
We are looking at a reproduction, or copy, of the original painting that is in a museum in Germany. This reproduction is a photograph of the real painting. On the original painting, you can see the thick oil paint layered on its surface. Where did van Gogh sign his painting?
Yellow is a happy, warm color. Yellow is considered a happy, warm color because it is the color of the sun, of summer flowers, and of wheat fields in autumn. For van Gogh, the color yellow symbolized everything good, including love, hope, and friendship. Look at the color wheel and find the warm colors. Red, yellow and orange are warm colors.
The warm colors are bright against the cool blue background.
Orange is made by mixing red and yellow. van Gogh mixed his paints to make many different shades of yellow and orange.
Some flowers have straight stems. They seem to stand straight and tall.
Some flowers have curving stems and petals. They appear to be shy or sad, like a person bending over.
He drew the vase and flowers first and then added the table line. We know this because the table is a different height on each side. He had already painted the vase before he painted the line.
Flowers seen from the front have round shapes. Flowers turned sideways have oval shapes. The vase has an oval shape with a flat top and bottom.
Overlap shows that one thing is in front of another. The flowers are arranged in a vase. Some flowers overlap others and hide their shapes. Which flowers are in front of all the others? Which flower is almost hidden by the others? The vase is sitting on top of a table. The oval shape of the vase overlaps the table and background. Some flowers overlap the vase.
Four flowers form a zig zag line above the center of the vase. Four flowers on the right twist and turn. Four flowers on the left hide their faces. These groups of four are balanced in the painting.
This reproduction is flat and smooth, but the real painting has actual texture. The flowers and vase have rough texture. You would feel it if you touched them.
van Gogh used thick, impasto paint, like toothpaste, to paint the flowers and vase. We can see the marks made by the paintbrush.
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Still Life Flowers
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