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Why did Vincent van Gogh paint the Sunflowers series?
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Vincent van Gogh
Self-Portrait, oil on artist's board on cradled panel by Vincent van Gogh, 1887; in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Vincent van Gogh painted his series of sunflowers as part of a broader effort to decorate his house in Arles, which he had rented with the intention of establishing a working community of artists known as "The Studio of the South."
By creating these works, he aimed to produce a welcoming atmosphere for his guest, Paul Gauguin, whom he had invited to join him. Beyond their decorative purpose, van Gogh also intended for these paintings to demonstrate that his own artistic work could stand in comparison to that of Gauguin, an artist whose talent he deeply admired.1