Van Gogh's Sunflowers paintings were targeted by Just Stop Oil climate activists in 2022 and again in 2024 to protest the climate crisis, demanding an end to fossil fuels by drawing attention to the "cost of living" and "climate emergency" through symbolic acts of civil disobedience, questioning if art is worth more than life, food, and justice. The protesters threw tomato soup (in 2022) and soup-like substances (in 2024) at the artworks, which were protected by glass, causing minor damage to the frames but aiming to highlight the urgency of environmental destruction.
The paintings from Van Gogh's “Sunflowers” series, which the artist painted in Arles in the south of France, were not damaged thanks to protective glass coverings. The gallery identified the two as its own Sunflowers (1888) and Sunflowers (1889) on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
His medical biographers agree that his adulthood included periods of hypersexuality, hyposexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality.
The 'Sunflowers' were meant to symbolise gratitude
Together, the paintings were to form a triptych. The two Sunflowers were the 'yellow panels' that would intensify the colours of the portrait. Vincent thought that the triptych as a whole symbolised gratitude.
They chose soup, rather than paint, for two reasons. It seemed stranger. And it symbolized the tinned goods at food banks that millions of Brits were relying on during an energy crisis caused by high fossil fuel prices. The day of the protest, Holland and Plummer were nervous.
His last words: " The Sadness will last forever." We love you, Vincent Willem van Gogh.
He was unable to make a living from his art, and was forced to rely on the support of his brother, Theo. This reliance on his brother put a strain on their relationship, and Van Gogh often felt guilty for being a burden. One of the most famous incidents in Vincent van Gogh's life is the cutting off of his own ear.
He was a troubled person who was being treated by a Dr. Gachet, seen here holding the sprig of Foxglove (the source of digitalis) in a portrait by Van Gogh (Figure 1). Gachet treated Van Gogh in 1889 at the asylum Saint-Remy and continued to treat him the following year till he committed suicide.
Six sunflowers do carry the deeper meaning of: “I want to be yours” or “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” They symbolise passion, commitment, and enduring love not just affection, but the desire for a lasting bond.
On 30 March 1987 Van Gogh's iconic Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers sold at Christie's in London for £24.75 million ($39.7), the highest ever sale of a painting at that time. Today Van Gogh's works account for seven of the most expensive paintings in the world.
In the summer of 1881, when Vincent was 28, he fell head over heels in love with his cousin Kee Vos-Stricker. The one-sided love affair started when Vincent was staying with his parents in Etten. Kee was also staying there, after recently becoming a widow.
Van Gogh's favourite colour was yellow!
No, nay, never
At the age of 28, Vincent met his cousin Kee Vos-Stricker. His feelings for her ran away with him. However, Kee did not see her cousin as husband material. She answered "no, nay, never" to his repeated proposals.
Van Gogh suffered from some seizures or crises, and in one of these attacks, on 23 December 1888, he cut off a part, or possibly all, of his left ear. Following that attack, he was admitted to hospital in Arles, where his condition was diagnosed as "acute mania with generalized delirium".
Van Gogh's last words were, "The sadness will last forever." He, who knew the dark. He, who nonetheless painted the stars within it.
TIL in 1965, the gun that killed Vincent Van Gogh was found in a field outside Auvers-sur-Oise, France by a farmer. It had lay where it fell from the artist's hands 75 years before. It went on to sell at auction for $182,000.
🌻 Sunflower emoji
Representing adoration and loyalty, the 🌻 emoji is perfect to send to a friend to brighten up their day or if you want to send some happy and positive vibes.
The Sunflower is a globally recognised symbol for non-visible disabilities, also known as hidden disabilities or invisible disabilities.
The meaning of sunflowers
In terms of love, sunflowers symbolize pure and steadfast love, like Clytie who constantly gazed at Apollo. Therefore, giving someone a sunflower means telling them that my love for you will be constant, and unchanged, like how the sunflower always faces the sun.
The sources give no reason to think that he was suffering from Meniere's disease. While syphilis occurred frequently in Van Gogh's time and was well known, none of his doctors made this diagnosis, even not after they treated him for gonorrhoea.
While not traditionally "scary," Van Gogh's "Skull of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette" (1886) is often cited as his creepiest or most unsettling work, featuring a smoking skull that's both humorous and morbid, a commentary on his academy studies and health. Other candidates for unsettling include the tormented figures in At Eternity's Gate (1890) or the chaotic energy of some night scenes, but the skeleton painting remains a standout for its stark, dark subject matter.
Vincent van Gogh died from a gunshot wound to the chest on July 29, 1890, after shooting himself in a wheatfield near Auvers-sur-Oise two days prior, with his brother Theo by his side; while widely accepted as suicide linked to severe depression and loneliness, some theories suggest it might have been an accident or even murder, though the suicide narrative remains dominant, as noted by sources like the Van Gogh Museum and Tate.
Repetitive self-mutilation is termed the van Gogh syndrome after Vincent van Gogh a renowned Dutch painter of late 19 th century, who during a bout of psychosis deliberately mutilated his ear. Self-mutilation of ears is a rare condition seen usually in patients with mental illness.
The sadness will last forever. What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?
Bryan Charnley (20 September 1949 – 19 July 1991) was a British artist who had paranoid schizophrenia, and explored its effects in his work.