Sunflowers

Flowers and plants have always been one of the most favourite and commonly depicted themes by artists either forming the subject of the artwork itself or serving as a decorative element. Some flowers however have been more extensively used through time, such as the sunflowers. The use of sunflower as a theme dates back to the Greek mythology, where according to the myth the nymph Clytia was transformed by Apollo into a sunflower.

Sunflowers, attracting the artists’ attention because of their magnificent colour and shape, have been depicted either as a supplementary element in paintings, such as in The Artist’s Garden in Vétheuil by Claude Monet, or as the main theme of the painting. It could be argued that with Van Gogh sunflowers have become an icon in art history and his painting has become one of the most recognisable paintings of all times. The centrality of Van Gogh’s sunflowers in art and its influence can be seen in contemporary artists, such as in Alexander Daniloff’s work Seduta Spiritica, where the spirit of Van Gogh appears as a means of inspiration for the two figures sitting on the table. The artist with his use of watercolours has successfully depicted and makes reference to the painting of Van Gogh not only by including his figure in the picture, but also by taking elements of other famous paintings by Van Gogh with the swirls of colour surrounding all three figures of the picture. Of course, sunflowers could not be omitted when making such direct reference to Van Gogh, are carefully positioned on the table, right in the centre of the painting.

Federico Duret with his work The agony of Goldilocks provides more evidence about the fascination with Van Gogh’s depiction of sunflowers; making perfect use of perspective he leads the viewer’s eye to the vase of sunflowers depicted on a bright background. It could be argued that he presents them as a kind of a ‘treasure’; by painting the lock in the centre of the canvas, it could be implied that this lock has been placed there in order to keep something valuable safe.

Jean Hildebrant makes sunflowers the main subject of his painting and has paid special attention to the very nature of the flowers, by concentrating on the colour and different shapes the flowers can take.

Although this striking colour of the sunflowers - connected to life and joy - has been frequently depicted by the artists, the same flowers can also provide the perfect ground to make reference to time passing by and the changes time brings, as can be seen in Raphael Perez’s Sunflowers, where he presents a pair of sunflowers that has dried out.

Consequently, the centrality of sunflowers in art can be justified by the fact that they have become motifs both for the expression of life and joy, as well as grief and distress.

Klairi Angelou is an art historian holding a BA (Hons) degree and a MA degree in the field, the latter from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. She is now a PhD candidate in History of Art at the University of Bristol and a contributing author for USEUM.