Sunflowers have become a theme for many artists' paintings. The bright colors of these colors were especially fond of the Impressionists, who devoted whole cycles of paintings to sunflowers.
Cycles of paintings by Van Gogh
The famous Dutch artist painted two series of canvases dedicated to sunflowers. The first, the Parisian cycle, depicts flowers lying and already fading. The second, larger one, was painted in Arles and contains images of sunflowers standing in a vase. It is believed that Van Gogh wrote this cycle to decorate the house for the arrival of Gauguin, who was a close friend of the artist. The Arles series differs mainly only in the backgrounds used. The paintings are painted in a manner characteristic of Van Gogh - they use sharp and large strokes, simplified silhouettes and clean, bright colors. When working, the artist was guided by the style of Vermeer, which used a combination of an azure background and pale yellow colors.
The moment Van Gogh wrote one of the paintings was captured by Gauguin on the canvas "Van Gogh Paints Sunflowers".
"Sunflowers" by Claude Monet
This painting was created in 1881. It features a small vase and a huge bright bouquet of sunflowers. The background is blurred, and the viewer's attention remains riveted to the colors. Monet painted the picture with careless wavy strokes that give the impression of dynamics - the heads of golden flowers seem to sway in the wind. As the founder of Impressionism, the artist applied all the postulates characteristic of future fans of this movement when writing the canvas - airiness, lightness, brightness of colors, but great realism. Monet made a picture not from clear lines, but from bright spots of light, combinations of colors and sharp strokes, which, as it were, conveyed the movement of air.
"Withered Sunflowers" by Egon Schiele
While most artists associated sunflowers with the sun, life and joy, Egon Schiele created the unusual painting "Withered Sunflowers". The expressionist painter created works in a characteristic gloomy manner, using faded colors, caricature lines and clear forms. "Withered sunflowers" have a strict Gothic sound, the flowers themselves merge in color with the leaves and earth. There is no clear composition in the picture - it is clear that the sunflower bush extends beyond the canvas from above and below.
Schiele's painting was long considered lost during the Second World War, but it was found and sold at auction.
The work creates a disturbing mood - even the sky and the sun have faded colors that have nothing to do with reality. As an admirer of expressionism, Schiele attached importance not so much to the realism of the image, but to his own mood and emotions that covered him when painting the picture.
