Which painter made the 1888 series of Sunflowers in Arles?

Vincent van Gogh made the 1888 series of Sunflowers in Arles. The paintings belong to his best-known still-life works and show bouquets arranged in vases, with flowers ranging from fresh bloom to wilting decay.

Van Gogh began the Arles group in August 1888 while preparing the Yellow House for Paul Gauguin, who was expected to join him there. He imagined the paintings as a decoration for Gauguin's room and hoped the sunflower motif would express friendship and artistic partnership. Their intense yellows also reflected van Gogh's interest in using color for emotional and symbolic effect.

The Arles paintings are often confused with an earlier Paris series from 1887, which showed sunflowers lying on the ground. The Arles versions are the famous vase compositions. Several related canvases survive in museums including the National Gallery in London, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.