NOt just art#1:van gogh's yellows

If you've ever looked at a Van Gogh painting, you've probably noticed one thing: yellow is everywhere. Van Gogh didn't just paint yellow flowers. He painted yellow skies, yellow stars and entire worlds glowing in shades of gold. 

This article marks the beginning of Not Just Art, a new series where we'll look beyond the finished work and explore the stories, questions and creative decisions hidden behind some of the world's most fascinating artists, artworks and cultural moments. Because sometimes what makes a piece of art interesting isn't just what we're looking at, but the story of how and why it came to exist in the first place. 

The City That Changed Everything 

At first glance, the answer seems simple: maybe yellow was just his favourite colour. But the more you look into Van Gogh's life and work, the more complicated the story becomes. Because yellow wasn't just a colour that appeared in a few paintings. It followed him everywhere. One of the reasons yellow became so closely associated with Van Gogh was his move to Arles, a small city in the south of France. 

Before arriving there, his paintings were often darker, filled with earthy tones and muted colours. But Arles was different. The intense sunlight, bright skies and warm landscapes introduced him to a world of colour that would completely transform the way he painted. 

The Potato Eaters, 1885 The Hill of Montmartre with Stone Quarry, 1886

For Van Gogh, yellow became more than just a colour. It became a way of capturing light itself. From the glowing wheat fields to the Sunflowers series, yellow appears again and again throughout his work, often talking center stage in ways few artist had attempted before.

Sunflowers, 1888, Neue Pinakothek, München Sunflowers, 1888, National Gallery, London Sunflowers, 1889, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Yellow is not just bright or joyful. Some flowers seem alive and open, while others are fading, bent or almost dry. The same colour holds both life and decay, warmth and fragility. That is what makes the painting feel so alive: yellow is not used as decoration, but as emotion. 

The colour followed him beyond the canvas, too. In Arles, he rented a bright yellow house that later became known as The Yellow House, one of the most recognisable places connected to his life and work. In letters to his brother Theo, Van Gogh often wrote about the house and the colours around him, describing the bright southern light that fascinated him so much. By that point, yellow wasn't simply appearing in his paintings, it had become part of the world he was building around himself. 

Was It Really Just About Light? 

As convincing as that explanation sounds, not everyone believes Van Gogh's fascination with yellow was purely artistic. Over the years, historians, researchers and art lovers have tried to answer the same question: why did yellow appear so often in his work? 

Some theories suggest that certain medications Van Gogh took may have affected the way he perceived colour. Others believe that the intense sunlight of southern France could have influenced his vision, making yellow appear even more vivid. While these theories continue to spark debate, there is no definitive evidence that Van Gogh literally saw the world in yellow. His letters suggest that colour was something he thought about carefully and used deliberately, often as a way of expressing emotion, atmosphere and intensity rather than simply recording reality.

When Yellow Becomes a Language 

The more you look at Van Gogh's paintings, the harder it becomes to give yellow a single meaning. Perhaps that's what makes Van Gogh's use of yellow so fascinating. He wasn't using it as a symbol with one fixed meaning. He was using it as a language, one capable of expressing light, energy, fragility and even isolation, depending on the story he wanted to tell.  

The contrast becomes even more interesting in The Night Café. Here, yellow is no longer soft or comforting. Combined with the intense reds and artificial light, it creates a feeling of unease. The room seems almost restless, as if the colours themselves are vibrating. Van Gogh once described the café as a place where someone could "ruin themselves, go mad or commit a crime," making the painting feel far darker than its bright colours might suggest. 

Even in The Bedroom, one of his calmest paintings, yellow plays a different role. The warm colours make the room feel welcoming, yet there is also a sense of solitude. It feels less like a perfect home and more like a deeply personal space, reflecting Van Gogh's desire for comfort and stability during a difficult period of his life. 

The Starry Night may be one of the best examples of how differently Van Gogh used yellow. The stars and moon seem to radiate far beyond their natural light, pulling the viewer into a sky that feels constantly in motion. Nothing in the painting appears still. The colours swirl, the stars pulse and the entire scene feels charged with energy. Looking at it, it becomes clear that Van Gogh wasn't simply painting what he saw. He was painting what he felt. The result is a night sky that feels both beautiful and slightly unsettling, as though we're not just looking at the world around him, but experiencing it through his eyes.

The Night Café, 1888 The Bedroom, 1888 The Starry Night, 1889

These aren't just yellows. They are Van Gogh's yellows

After looking at his paintings, letters and life, the answer feels less straightforward than it first appears. Yes, the light of southern France played a role. And yes, there are countless theories about why yellow became so present in his work. But perhaps the real answer is simpler, yellow became one of the ways Van Gogh made sense of the world around him, it allowed him to express something that words couldn't. More than a colour, yellow became part of the visual language through which Van Gogh experienced and interpreted the world around him. 

It appears in sunflowers, cafés, bedrooms and night skies, yet it never seems to mean exactly the same thing twice. Sometimes it feels warm. Sometimes restless. Sometimes hopeful. Sometimes deeply lonely, and perhaps that's why we're still talking about them today.

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Written by Ria

Images credits Van Gogh Museum: https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en

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