The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is known for its extensive collection of Van Gogh’s art.
Visitors are often confused about where to start among hundreds of paintings, drawings, and letters.
With so many masterpieces on display, deciding which ones deserve the most attention can be overwhelming.
In this article, we will tell you about the top 10 most famous paintings by Vincent Van Gogh, which you should never miss!
How many paintings did Van Gogh paint?
Do you know that despite only working for 10 years—from the age of 27 to his death at 37—Van Gogh made more than 900 paintings and many more drawings and sketches?
That means he creates new artwork every 36 hours!
1. Self Portrait
Among the 900 paintings he painted throughout his career, Van Gogh painted more than 35 self-portraits.
Many of these self-portraits are on the ground floor of the main building at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Some self-portraits, such as Van Gogh as a painter and Van Gogh with a grey felt hat, are very popular.
Self Portrait with Grey Felt Hat
Unlike other self-portraits, in this painting, Van Gogh is all dressed up with a black hat, coat, and tie. He looks serious, with a sad face and hopeful eyes.
This painting is different from some of his other portraits, which use brighter colors. He painted it in Paris in 1887.
Self Portrait as Painter
Similarly, in his Self-Portrait as a painter, he is dressed like a painter behind an easel and holding a paintbrush palette in his hand.
By this point, he was tired of living in Paris, so he painted wrinkles on his face and a bit of sadness in his eyes. It was the last painting he created in Paris.
Do you know who Vincent Van Gogh was? How did he become so famous? Learn more about this famous artist’s life here!
2. The Potato Eaters
Potato Eaters is one of Vincent Van Gogh’s earliest and most famous paintings. He painted it in 1885 in his hometown of Nuenen.
This painting shows a family of peasants sitting around a table eating a simple meal of potatoes in a place with dim light from a single bulb.
Peasants’ faces have wrinkles, and their hands are strong and bony like they’ve been working the land for a long time.
Van Gogh wanted to be a true “peasant painter” to show how hard life was for these people.
Due to its harsh reality, the painting initially faced criticism, but today, it is considered one of his finest masterpieces.
Planning to visit the Van Gogh Museum? Check out some of the lesser-known tips for visiting the museum here!
3. Sunflowers
Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” is one of three sunflower paintings he painted between 1888 and 1889.
He even hung the first two he painted in his friend’s room, another artist named Paul Gauguin, who liked sunflowers.
One of the most renowned pieces in this series is simply titled “Sunflowers,” painted in August 1888 while Van Gogh was living in Arles, France.
This painting shows a big bunch of sunflowers in a vase created with only three shades of yellow.
Van Gogh felt these sunflowers showed gratitude.
4. Bedroom in Arles
Bedroom in Arles is another famous series of paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. It consists of three distinct paintings created between 1888 and 1889.
The first version was painted in 1888 in Arles. The second was a “repetition” of the original scale, while the third painting was a “réduction” in smaller size.
The painting in Amsterdam was painted in Arles, France, in October 1888.
This painting shows Van Gogh’s bedroom in a house called the Yellow House, in which he himself has simple furniture and some of his artwork on the walls.
The room has a narrow bed, a small table, and various personal belongings. He originally used bright colors throughout the painting.
However, some of these colors faded a bit over time, like the walls and doors, which were originally purple, now appear more blue.
He also intentionally left out shadows to make the painting look more like a Japanese print, which he admired.
Want to visit a mysterious, lesser-known area near the museum? Check out the article on hidden gems near Vna Gogh here.
5. Almond Blossoms
Vincent van Gogh’s “Almond Blossom” is a beautiful painting that Van Gogh painted in February 1890 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France.
This painting shows the branches of an almond tree full of blossoms against a bright blue sky, symbolizing a new beginning.
The painting is even more special because it was a gift for Vincent’s brother Theo and his sister-in-law Jo, who just had a baby boy they named Vincent Willem.
It celebrates the new life of Vincent’s nephew.
In fact, this painting became very important to the Van Gogh family as Vincent Willem grew up and became the founder of the Van Gogh Museum.
6. Wheatfield with Crows
“Wheatfield with Crows” was painted by Van Gogh in July 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, France.
There’s a common belief that this was his last painting ever, but that’s not quite true. He actually created a few more works after this one.
The painting shows a wheat field under a dark, stormy sky with crows flying around.
The bright yellow-orange of the wheat contrasts with the blue sky, and the red path pops against the green grass. These strong colors create a very striking image.
Some people think these dark elements in the painting represent sadness or loneliness, which Van Gogh also felt sometimes.
However, he loved painting fields and saw the countryside as a place of peace and strength, which was his main motive for creating the painting.
7. Skeleton head with Ciggrates
“Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette” stands among the famous paintings by Vincent Van Gogh.
He painted it back in 1886 while he was still a young artist studying at an art school in Antwerp, Belgium.
The painting shows a skull with a lit cigarette in its mouth. It might seem a little strange, but it’s kind of a joke Van Gogh made.
At the art school, students had to draw skeletons to practice drawing people. This painting was his way of poking fun at those lessons.
Even though it’s a funny picture, some people believe there’s more to it.
The painting has been interpreted as an expression of Van Gogh’s own death anxiety and a broader commentary on mortality and the fragility of life.
8. Irises
Irises is a beautiful flower painting by Vincent van Gogh. He painted it in May 1890 while he was staying in a hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France.
Van Gogh wanted to create a strong contrast between the flowers and the background.
He painted the irises a bright purple and the background a sunny yellow, making the flowers really pop out and become the stars of the painting.
An interesting detail is that irises were originally painted purple, but the red pigment has faded over time, and they now appear more blue.
Even though the color has changed a bit, it’s still a gorgeous painting.
This is actually one of two iris paintings Van Gogh did. He also did another one using purples and pinks on a green background.
9. The Sower
The Sower was painted by Vincent van Gogh in Arles, France, in November 1888.
Van Gogh painted more than 30 pictures of sowers throughout his career,
This painting shows a farmer scattering seeds across a field.
What makes this painting different is that instead of painting things exactly as they look in real life, he uses bright and unusual colors in it.
He painted the sky greenish-yellow, the field purple, and the sun a bright yellow circle that almost looks like a holy light behind the farmer’s head.
Van Gogh wanted this painting to create a sense of emotion and even make the farmer seem like a special person.
10. Women on Peat Moor
Women on the Peat Moor is Van Gogh’s lesser-known painting. It was painted in 1883 in a small village called Nieuw-Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Van Gogh was very interested in the lives of everyday people, especially those who worked in the countryside.
He spent a lot of time drawing and painting scenes like this one.
This painting shows two women working in a field and gathering dried-up pieces of peat, which can be burned as fuel.
There’s a sense of quiet sadness in the scene but also a quiet strength in these two women.
He used the setting sun and the long shadows cast by the women to hint at the long hours they spent working the land.
He created the painting two years after Potato Eaters. Interestingly, this painting wasn’t always the way we see it today.
At first, Van Gogh actually included four women in the scene but later changed it to just two.
FAQs
1. Where can I see the most Van Gogh paintings?
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has the world’s largest collection of Van Gogh paintings.
Yes, all the paintings in the Van Gogh Museum are real.
2. What not to miss at the Van Gogh Museum?
Here are some of the most famous Van Gogh paintings you can see at the museum that you should never miss:
Sunflowers, Bedroom in Arles, The Potato Eaters, Almond Blossoms, Wheatfield with Crows, Irises and Self-Portrait ( including one as a painter and another with a grey felt hat).
3. What is Vincent van Gogh’s most famous painting called?
While Starry Night is the most famous Van Gogh painting, it is not in the Van Gogh Museum. It is in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in NYC.
3. What is special about Van Gogh’s paintings?
Van Gogh’s paintings are special because of his use of bold colors and swirling brushstrokes, which sometimes give an optical illusion of a different color.
4. What is the #1 most famous painting in the world?
The question of the world’s #1 most famous painting is debatable, but Starry Night is definitely one of the contenders. Some others are the potato easter and almond blossoms.
5. Are the sunflowers at the Van Gogh Museum?
Yes, the Van Gogh Museum has one of Van Gogh’s three sunflower paintings in its collection.
6. What is the story behind Van Gogh’s sunflowers?
Van Gogh painted the Sunflowers series to express gratitude and brighten the room of his friend Paul Gauguin.
7. What is Van Gogh’s most famous self-portrait?
Although many of Van Gogh’s self-portraits are very famous, one of them in the Van Gogh Museum is the Self-Portrait of Van Gogh as a Painter.
8. What did Van Gogh mean by The Potato Eaters?
Van Gogh wanted The Potato Eaters to depict the harsh reality of country life and the dignity of the peasant workers.
8. Is The Potato Eaters a masterpiece?
Today, The Potato Eaters is considered one of Van Gogh’s masterpieces, but it was initially criticized for its dark and gritty style.
9. What is the story behind Van Gogh’s bedroom in Arles?
Van Gogh painted Bedroom in Arles to show his own bedroom in a house he called the Yellow House. He filled the painting with personal touches and bright colors.
10. What is the meaning of the head of a skeleton with a burning cigarette?
On the surface, Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette is a humorous jab at Van Gogh’s art school lessons.
However, some believe it also reflects mortality and the fragility of life.
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