Van Gogh often created multiple paintings of the same subject such as sunflowers.  For these works, we have picked a couple to highlight in our top ten.  Another interesting item of note is that although Van Gogh painted hundreds of works over the course of the years from 1881-1890, nine out of the top ten were created during the years 1888-1889.  During this time, Van Gogh was living in France – first in Arles and then Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

So what are some of his top paintings, and where can you see them?  View the list below as we count down the
Top 10 Van Gogh Paintings. 

	10. Wheat Field with Cypresses Wheat Field with Cypresses, 1889 – The Tate Gallery, London (shown top) Wheat Field with Cypresses, 1889 – The National Gallery, London
	9. The Bedroom The Bedroom, 1888 – The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (shown top) The Bedroom, 1889 – The Musée d’Orsay, Paris
	8.  Potato Eaters, The, 1885 – The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
	7.   Mulberry Tree, The, 1889 – The Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena
	6. Starry Night Over the Rhone, 1888 – The Musée d’Orsay, Paris
	5. Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night, The, 1888 – The Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
	4. Irises, 1889 – The Getty Center, Los Angeles
	3. Blossoming Almond Tree, 1890 – The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
	2. Sunflowers Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, 1888 – The National Gallery, London (shown top) Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, 1889 – The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
	1. Starry Night, The, 1889 – The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Is your favorite Van Gogh painting on this list? Comment and let us know.

While the paintings of Michelangelo, Botticelli, Velazquez, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Raphael are just a few of those on display, our visit focused in on room 45 –  Van Gogh and Cezanne.  Although the room contained the works of Cezanne, Gauguin, Camille Pissarro, Vuillard, Rousseau and Toulouse-Lautrec, the crowds hovered on the wall containing the Van Goghs.  The central painting on this wall is Sunflowers.  This iconic work is even more vibrant to see in person with the rich golds and yellows and the accents of blue, which you don’t notice as much on screen or in print as in person. 

The National Gallery, London

To the far left was Van Gogh’s Chair.  What struck me most about seeing this painting hanging in the museum along with the other Van Gogh paintings was the size.  Measuring 91.8 x 73 cm (3ft x 2.3 ft), it is incredible to think that Van Gogh created over 800 paintings in such a short time frame when some of them are this size.  Besides the size, the number of colors used in this painting to create the varying shades of the yellow chair and the terracotta tile are too many to count.

To the far right was A Wheatfield, with Cypresses.  Seeing this painting in person, I came to appreciate all of the smaller details in this work.  The little red and white flowers and the blades of grass suddenly come into focus when you are standing in front of this painting.

In addition to these works, Van Gogh’s Long Grass with Butterflies and Mother by a Cradle (Leonie-Rose Davy-Charbury) are both exceptional works in the museum collection although somewhat overshadowed by the previous three mentioned.

If you are planning a trip to London, The National Gallery, with its free admission, outstanding Van Gogh collection, and extraordinary works by other famous artists, should not be missed.

• Sunflower Big Easel Project
• Gotham Starry Night and Other Van Gogh Parodies
• Starry Night in Legos
• Lust for Life
• “Vincent” by Don McLean
• “Vincent and the Doctor”
• Van Gogh effect in Photoshop
• Starry Night Photomosaic
• Starry Night in Post-it Notes

Do you know of a great example of Van Gogh in pop culture?  Comment and share it with us!

When writing to his brother Theo about Arles and the flowers in a letter from August 8, 1888, Van Gogh wrote

“Under the blue sky the orange, yellow, red splashes of the flowers take on an amazing brilliance, and in the limpid air there is a something or other happier, more lovely than in the North.”

It is not surprising that Van Gogh captured that happiness in some of his most famous Sunflower paintings which he created during his stay in Arles.  His most commonly known Sunflower paintings are the Sunflowers and the Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, but he created several other lesser known Sunflower paintings.  His earlier paintings containing sunflowers were done in Paris from 1886-1887.  These paintings do not have the same vibrant yellows as the Arles series has, but show his early development of this subject.   View a few of them here:

Letter Source:
http://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/18/519.htm

In New York, you can see Van Gogh’s Starry Night in person at the Museum of Modern Art or see several of his other paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.   If you are in Chicago the Art Institute of Chicago has several impressive Van Gogh pieces including The Bedroom.  

And no matter where you are you can always view Van Gogh’s masterpieces by going to the Van Gogh Gallery catalog and filter by city, state, country or museum name to find the Van Goghs closest to you or just browse them online.