Inspired by Vincent van Gogh. Crafted for your story. The Paperblanks x Van Gogh Museum collaboration unites art and handwriting: Vincent van Gogh’s iconic Sunflowers and a letter he wrote to his brother Theo is combined in a single design.
Paperblanks and the Van Gogh Museum share a belief in the lasting power of art and recognise the importance of preserving it with care for future generations. The two organisations are united in their commitment to celebrating Van Gogh’s work, to safeguarding the stories around it, and to bringing people closer to the artist through both his paintings and his words.
For this collaboration, Paperblanks’ team worked with material from the Van Gogh Museum collection to develop a design that translates Vincent van Gogh’s world into an object to be held and used every day.
This collaboration begins with Van Gogh, Sunflowers, part of Paperblanks’ Embellished Manuscripts Collection. The design brings together two essential elements of Vincent van Gogh’s legacy by pairing his radiant Sunflowers (1889) with one of his letters to his brother Theo.
Van Gogh’s letters help us understand not only what he made, but why he made it. In a letter to Theo about the Yellow House in Arles, he describes the sunflower paintings – created to decorate Paul Gauguin’s room:
‘But you’ll see these big paintings of bouquets of 12, 14 sunflowers stuffed into this tiny little boudoir with a pretty bed and everything else elegant. It won’t be commonplace.’
Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo, Arles, 9 September 1888
By pairing one of his most recognisable paintings with his own handwriting, this edition offers a more intimate encounter with Van Gogh: the artist as painter, and the artist as storyteller.
Paperblanks is a premium stationery brand that creates journals, notebooks, planners and tools designed to inspire creativity, empower individuality and celebrate life’s special moments. Founded in 1992 in Vancouver, Canada, Paperblanks is known for its richly detailed cover designs, drawing on iconic images and artistic traditions across eras and cultures, and connecting everyday writing and planning with art, heritage and self-expression.
Discover more at paperblanks.com.
If you would like to find out more about the brand licensing programmes or are interested in a potential collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum, please get in touch.