The History Of Vincent van Gogh's Famous Flower Paintings

Interflora is launching a Van Gogh Collection with flower bouquets and floral arrangements inspired by exhibits at the Van Gogh Museum. This collection will allow you to give someone special a flower gift based on the timeless flower paintings Van Gogh produced over his lifetime. Before you gift someone with a flower delivery, our quick guide will help highlight what has made these paintings popular.

Van Gogh Museum celebrates

The Van Gogh Museum celebrates its 50th birthday in 2023, together with Interflora Australia

With over 200 paintings, close to 500 drawings and more than 700 letters, the Van Gogh Museum houses the largest collection of works by Vincent van Gogh anywhere in the world. The Van Gogh Museum has been inspiring countless devotees with the life and work of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries for over 50 years. All of our products are developed with Vincent van Gogh’s heritage in mind and every purchase contributes to maintaining the Van Gogh Museum activities, during our anniversary celebrations and beyond.

To celebrate this festive milestone, the Van Gogh Museum has designed an exclusive artwork dedicated to Vincent’s Flowers.

A tribute to Vincent's flowers

Vincent's love for nature is visible in all the flowers he painted during his life. For this special occasion, all his flowers combined into one blossoming bouquet celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam.

“I believe that at present we must paint nature’s rich and magnificent aspects; we need good cheer and happiness, hope and love.”
Vincent van Gogh to his sister Willemien, 14 September 1888

Sunflowers

Van Gogh painted flowers to study the use of colour combinations. One of the most famous works Van Gogh ever produced, Sunflowers is the title of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter. The first series, created in 1887, depicts the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set, made a year later shows a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase. The second series was painted in the South of France, where Van Gogh was looking to build a community of like-minded artists.

If you’re looking to send a gift inspired by the painting, our Van Gogh Sunflowers flower arrangement will brighten up anyone’s day. Delivered in a glass vase and accompanied by magnolias and olive foliage, this sunflower gift is the way to go. 

Irises

'Irises' is a painting Van Gogh created while he was a patient at the Saint Paul-de-Mausole asylum in France. These were some of his last paintings before his death in 1890. The painting is said to be influenced by Japanese woodblock prints due to the strong outlines and unusual angles. Today, it is one the most renowned works he has ever produced.

Interflora now offers Purple Iris, an arrangement of irises in a vase inspired by Van Gogh’s painting. This bouquet is paired with leather fern to provide a bold ray of purple for anyone to enjoy.   

Vase with Chinese Asters and Gladioli

Van Gogh had always used generous amounts of paint. But after discovering the flower still lifes of Adolphe Monticelli in June 1886, he went one step further. That French artist painted colourful bouquets with thick paint and emphatic brushstrokes. Van Gogh compared them to liquid clay. In still lifes such as 'Vase with Chinese Asters and Gladioli', you can see how thickly he began applying the paint to the canvas.

Glass with Yellow Roses

'Glass with Yellow Roses' was another painting that came out of the flower works Van Gogh produced in 1886. This oil painting shows the contrast of the yellow flowers on a black background producing a subtle but strong image.

We offer Yellow Roses, a bouquet which will make a pleasant gift for anyone. Displayed in a glass vase accompanied by lemon spray roses, they are sure to add some joy to any living space.  

Vase with Honesty

In the autumn of 1884, Van Gogh began work on painting a bouquet of the Annual Honesty plant accompanied by dried leaves and stems against blue. This is one of the first still lifes painted by Van Gogh. The origin of the name 'Annual Honesty' is suggested to refer to the Dutch name ‘judaspenning’ or 'coin of Judas'. This is a reference to the apostle Judas, who threw coins to the ground when he hanged himself. Where they landed, the honesty plant later grew. 

Our White Honesty arrangement provides a range of dried florals including gypsophila, natural smoke bush and feather fern, all arranged in a ceramic vase. As they are simple to upkeep, they will make a suitable gift for anyone, no matter how much experience they have with flower care.

Roses

Van Gogh painted 'Roses' in May 1890, during the final three weeks before leaving the hospital in Saint-Rémy. Van Gogh saw all blossoming plants as celebrations of birth and renewal. The blooms are presented on a fresh spring green background. Originally, the roses were pink, but the colour in the painting has since faded to leave only traces of the pink colours.

Inspired by the painting, you can order Van Gogh Roses, a fresh flower arrangement of white and pink roses for delivery with Interflora. Available all year round, this will be an exquisite gift for anyone.

Small Bottle with Peonies and Blue Delphiniums

The Small Bottle with Peonies and Blue Delphiniums portrait is one of many pieces in which Van Gogh experimented with the effects of different colours on each other. Ultimately his goal was to, "Aim of making future pictures brighter in colour,” as described by his brother Theo. He painted this flower still life on a simple piece of card, using rapid, loose brushstrokes.

Our Peonies in a Vase flower arrangement consists of pink peonies and white roses. Displayed in a glass vase, it will make a wonderful gift for you to give to a friend.

Which flower inspired Van Gogh painting do you enjoy the most? Share your favourites with us on Facebook and tag us on Instagram using the hashtags #AlwaysInterflora and #InterfloraAU