Still Life: Bowl with Daisies

Van Gogh's Still Life: Bowl with Daisies, painted at Arles in 1888 and now at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, is an intimate flower study that reflects his daily engagement with the flora of the south. Common daisies — flowers of extraordinary simplicity — are treated with the same seriousness that he gave his famous sunflowers, each white petal and yellow center observed with sustained attention. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts holds a distinguished collection of European painting, and this still life is among its most significant Van Gogh works.

The daisy bowl is rendered with careful observation of each bloom's specific structure — the radiating white petals around the yellow center. Van Gogh's Arles palette brings warm color to the surrounding environment while the daisies themselves are rendered in fresh whites and yellows. Brushwork on the petals is delicate and varied, each flower individually characterized.