How many sunflowers?
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Lesson duration is: 5 minIntroduction
This brief lesson about the number of sunflowers in Vincent van Gogh's most famous painting is easy to combine with other lessons or activities.
Instructions
General learning objectives
- The lesson will introduce the class to Vincent van Gogh and one of his most famous paintings.
Preparation
No preparation necessary.
Materials required
None.
Optional variations
This lesson can be used as an introduction to a drawing or painting lesson, for instance on still lifes or monochrome painting.
Background information
Vincent van Gogh made a number of versions of the painting Sunflowers. The version in the Van Gogh Museum dates from 1889. It's a repetition that Vincent made of an earlier painting of his, also called Sunflowers. That earlier version is now in the National Gallery in London. In 1888, Van Gogh hung it in the guest bedroom of his famous Yellow House in Arles.
Items in this lesson
Slide 1 - Slide
Tell the class: Vincent's sunflower paintings are world famous. He painted them while living in southern France, in the city of Arles.
Slide 2 - Slide
Continue: A friend of Vincent's who was also an artist (Paul Gauguin) made a portrait of him painting sunflowers.
Slide 3 - Slide
Continue: But if you think Vincent made only one painting called Sunflowers, you're wrong. He made more than ten paintings with sunflowers in them, and five paintings like this one, showing sunflowers in a vase.
Slide 4 - Slide
Continue: Each of these paintings is now in a different country.
Slide 5 - Slide
Continue: This is the painting on display in the Van Gogh Museum. Now ask the children to guess, or try to count, how many sunflowers are in the vase. Then you can watch the video in the next slide.
(Please note that the title of the video is in Dutch: 'Zonnebloemen tellen', meaning 'Counting sunflowers'.)
Slide 6 - Video
Answer: 16. (Look closely – the fifteenth is very small.)
Slide 7 - Link
On the website of the Van Gogh Museum, you can zoom in on Sunflowers (for example, to take a closer look at the fifteenth sunflower or at Vincent's signature on the vases).