Mrs. Katona's Art Class
Pre-Kindergarten Artists
Vincent VanGogh's Sunflowers
Pre-Kindergarteners learned about Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh and saw images of his famous paintings of Sunflowers. Van Gogh did two series of sunflowers. Of all the art work Van Gogh painted his sunflowers are the best known and most reproduced of all his art. His first series of sunflowers show the flower in all the stages from full bloom to withering. These were done when he lived with his brother in Paris. The second series includes bouquets of sunflowers in a vase. In this series, there are seven of these paintings. He painted these in Arles to decorate the room that his friend whom he idolized, Paul Gauguin, was going to stay in. He painted from the heart and put everything he had into them to impress Paul. Paul did not give them much attention which devastated Van Gogh . In Van Gogh's life time he only sold one painting before dying at the young age of 37.
Wouldn't Vincent be shocked to hear that on March 31, 1987, Yasuo Goto paid 40 million dollars for his Vase with Fifteen Flowers at Christie's auction house which set a record for the most money spent on an art work.
Recently, there was speculation that one of the sunflowers in a vase was a forgery. There is one in Tokyo, Munich, London, Amsterdam, Philadelphia and one owned by a private collector in Paris plus one that was destroyed in Japan. It turns out that they are all originals. The painting here is the version that the Philadelphia Museum of Art owns. Enjoy our versions from Pre-K.