LEGO's Van Gogh Sunflowers Hides Artistic Surprise

The first thing to note about this set is its substantial dimensions. Standing 21 inches high and 16 inches wide, it's roughly 60% the size of the original artwork. This scale makes it large enough to feel somewhat cumbersome when handling.

Available March 1

LEGO Art Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers

$199.99 at the LEGO Store

Its scale and complexity command a certain seriousness. This is a tribute to one of the world's most iconic paintings, but it also insists on being displayed in a living space as actual art. This distinction is important as LEGO continues its gradual evolution from a quirky adult interest into a full-fledged adult hobby.

LEGO Art Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers

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Vincent van Gogh created his most famous series of Sunflower paintings while living in Arles, France, a period of immense artistic productivity. The artist held a deep emotional connection to the sunflower, associating it with feelings of gratitude. He regarded it as a kind of artistic muse, writing to a friend:

"If [Georges] Jeannin has the peony, [Ernest] Quost the hollyhock, I, indeed, before others, have taken the sunflower."

In August 1888, van Gogh completed four versions of sunflowers in a vase. He revisited this theme in January 1889, painting one repetition of the third version and two distinct repetitions of the fourth version.

Among these seven works, the fourth version and its two repetitions are the most celebrated. The original fourth version (F454) is housed at the National Gallery in London, England. One repetition (F457) resides at the Sompo Museum of Art in Tokyo, Japan. The other repetition (F458), arguably the most iconic due to its vibrant color palette and composition, is on display at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The Van Gogh Museum, founded in 1973, collaborated with LEGO to produce the LEGO Art Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers set, a tribute to the F458 version. The design is rendered as a three-dimensional relief, utilizing abstract LEGO elements to emulate van Gogh's characteristic thick brushstrokes.

Opening the box reveals 34 numbered bags and a printed instruction booklet containing a QR code. Scanning this code provides access to a podcast exploring van Gogh's life and the inspirations for his work.

I found the building process to be very practical. The first step involves constructing the frame, which I assembled and then leaned against a wall. The second step is building the canvas and the painting that adorns it.

The final step is mounting the completed canvas into the frame and securing it with pins. This touch nicely mirrors the real-world process of framing and presenting art, subliminally lending the finished piece a sense of value and significance.

A fantastic Easter egg is cleverly hidden in the canvas construction. Art experts studying F458 discovered that van Gogh later extended the canvas height by adding a wooden strip at the top, likely to give the sunflowers more space and prevent a cramped appearance.

LEGO playfully replicated this historical detail. You first build the main canvas and then attach a separate, corresponding strip at the top using pins. This is circled in red in the photo below. The designers even used brown bricks to simulate the look of wood.

This is an entirely superfluous detail in the final product, which is precisely why I adore it. It's invisible to any casual observer; only the person who built it would know it's there. But that's a special feeling for the builder—a connection to the trial and error even a master like van Gogh experienced. It also creates a sense of exclusivity; the builder can choose whether to share this secret when showing off the piece.

Constructing the fully bloomed sunflowers is a bit tedious, though perhaps unavoidable. There's probably no "fun" way to create sunflowers that look this authentic. In a way, the repetitiveness is the point; van Gogh didn't take shortcuts either. Just remember to take breaks. This isn't a set meant for speed-building. Savor the experience and get your money's worth.

I particularly enjoyed building the wilting flowers and those shown in profile rather than facing forward. Initially, their construction seemed abstract and random. But when you step back from the painting, everything clicks into place. What appeared chaotic up close reveals itself as a stem or a leaf in the broader context.

The most common question I receive from other adults is, "What do you do with a LEGO set after you've built it?" This time, the answer is simple and obvious: hang it on my dining room wall. This might be the best way for potential builders to consider this set. You know exactly where it will go once finished. You can look forward to that, and you'll be able to enjoy it long after the building is complete. A week after finishing it, I still find pleasure in looking at it, discovering new three-dimensional details that stand out each time. This is the first outstanding LEGO set of 2025, and it comes highly recommended.

LEGO Art Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers, Set #31215, has a retail price of $199.99 and consists of 2,615 pieces. It is available exclusively at the LEGO Store.