Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) produced around 900 paintings in his lifetime, yet only sold one. In the years since 1890, however, Van Gogh’s fame has skyrocketed – securing him a position as one of the most reproduced artists of all time. The team at Art Revived has assembled a list of Van Gogh’s most famous works.
1. The Starry Night (at Saint Remy), 1889, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Easily Van Gogh’s most famous work, the iconic Starry Night has become one of the most well known paintings in history, as well as one of the most sought after prints.
Van Gogh’s wild, swirling brushstrokes and the unidentified dark object in the foreground together shroud the work in an irresistible sense of mystery. The bright stars in the sky reach out to the viewer, while the night sky and the sleeping town recede into the distance, pulling the viewer in.
Van Gogh painted the work while in an asylum in Saint-Rémy – a small village in the Southern France. The painting depicts the view from his sanatorium window.
2. The Bedroom, 1888, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
The Bedroom, also known as Bedroom in Arles, depicts the artist’s bedroom in his “Yellow House,” such named after a description of the house that Van Gogh wrote to his brother.
Painted in bright, contrasting colors, we see the artist’s pine furniture and his own paintings adorning the walls. The back wall of the room was skewed, making the room a trapezoid rather than rectangular in shape. Van Gogh has abandoned any attempt at realistic perspective, and succeeds in “flattening” many of the elements. He outlines the objects in bold, black lines.
3. Sunflowers, 1889, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Van Gogh painted countless depictions of sunflowers in his lifetime, though no two are identical. Many artists have attempted to replicate these famous works, and they continue to grow in popularity with the help of prints. Van Gogh’s Sunflower paintings all share a very similar composition – a vase, resting on a table, with a solid background.
Van Gogh uses bright, vivid colors that bring the flowers to life. He provides a contrast to these bright tones by including dying sunflowers in the paintings. In this way, Van Gogh references the entire life cycle of the flowers.
4. The Night Café, 1888, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven:
Van Gogh’s Night Café depicts the late-night crowd at a café in Arles. He contrasts the vivid red of the walls with a bright green ceiling and a yellow floor. The ceiling lights emit an eerie yellow glow, and cause the pool table to cast a dark shadow on the floor. The overall feeling of isolation is amplified by the standing waiter, who appears to stare directly out at the viewer. During this time period, the all-night café served as a refuge for derelicts and prostitutes and, as such, Van Gogh wanted to express the underbelly of society in a visceral manner with his use of extreme color contrast and rough brush strokes.
5. Café Terrace at Night (Café Terrace, Place du Forum), 1888 Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo:
Like in Starry Night, Van Gogh succeeds in making the stars in the dark sky pop out at the viewer in his Café Terrace at Night. He again contrasts bright yellows and oranges with darker colors to create depth. Van Gogh achieves the effect of glowing light by interspersing the cobble stone road with flecks of yellow, blue, and orange tones. The painting depicts the terrace of the Place du Forum, a popular coffee house.
6. The Dance Hall in Arles, 1888, Musee d’Orsay, Paris:
Van Gogh created The Dance Hall in Arles during his time of close collaboration with the artist Paul Gauguin. The influence of Japanese art can be seen in Van Gogh’s depiction of hair, as well as the floating circles of light.
Van Gogh again uses bold, black lines to outline his figures and creates flatness by using solid colors. The way in which the figures overlap, and their features become unidentifiable in the distance, gives the work a feeling of crowdedness and movement.
7. Irises, 1890, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Van Gogh’s Irises is perhaps most famous for its stint as the most expensive painting ever sold, when it went for $53.9 million in 1987. The painting exudes a cheerful mood with its palette of blues and greens, and interspersed yellows.
He painted this work while in the asylum at Saint Paul-de-Mausole, but before he experienced his first attack. He once again uses the bold lines and angles typical of Japanese artwork.
