Zach Thomas

UCO1200-112

Michelle Bowers

8/25/21

Virtual Museum Visit Report

For as long as I can remember, my favorite type of flower has been the sunflower. If

anyone were to ask me why, I simply don’t know if I could say anything other than how

beautiful and bright they are! Not too long ago, my girlfriend took a trip to the Vincet van Gogh

exhibit in Charlotte, and she was taking a tour she sent me some absolutely beautiful pictures of

some of the displays, many of which included sunflowers. Prior to that day I had never read

about or researched Vincet van Gogh, but after noticing that much of his work involved

sunflowers, I searched his name only to find out that he’s basically “known as the man who

painted sunflowers” (Sunflowers). This prompted me to choose the Van Gogh Museum for my

virtual visit, as well as the collective “Sunflowers” (shown directly after the report).

Vincent van Gogh, a Dutch painter from the Province of Brabant, was born in 1853 and

lived until 1890. He had a rather quiet childhood that included a very little amount of education,

totaling up to less than five cumulative years. When he was sixteen, Van Gogh began working.

His first job was as an art dealer at the Hague Gallery, in which he lost interest a couple years

later and quit in 1875. Van Gogh had multiple jobs end similarly in the years following this, until

finally, he decided to become an artist in 1884 (Biography).

 The collective “Sunflowers”, one of many pieces made by Van Gogh that depicts

sunflowers, was made using a small variety of colors including multiple shades of yellow, a little

bit of green and white, and some brown. Additionally, Van Gogh used large hog hair brushes to

create this piece, as he did with nearly every piece. I don’t believe that there was any specific

reasoning behind his decision to use those materials other than the fact that they were the best

available options necessary to create a beautiful sunflower piece. With that being said, Van Gogh

did have his reasons for painting sunflowers as he expressed that “they communicated

‘gratitude’”. The painting itself appears to portray fifteen sunflowers, all arising from the same

white and yellow vase. Most of the flowers pictured have a visible green stem, all of which were

stroked in a unique direction. Interestingly enough, Van Gogh also chose to give this piece a

yellow back round, despite most of the painting already being yellow due to the natural color of

the sunflowers.

Overall, the virtual tour of the Van Gogh Museum was significantly effective. The

provided format easily allowed me to quickly find what I was looking for, while also giving me

the chance to easily browse the rest of the pieces in the collection without any frustration or

confusion. I really enjoyed viewing some of the great pieces of art that Van Gogh constructed

during his time as an artist, and I’m glad that this assignment gave me the opportunity to do so.
 Works Cited

Biography of Vincent van Gogh, Biography of Vincent van Gogh, Accessed 25 Aug. 2021.

Sunflowers, Van Gogh Museum, Everything about Sunflowers - Van Gogh Museum, Accessed

25 Aug. 2021.

Van Gogh, Vincent. Sunflowers. 1889. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Accessed 25 Aug.

2021. Vincent van Gogh - Sunflowers - Van Gogh Museum