Why Van Gogh Couldn’t Stop Painting the Same Thing

The Brushstroke of Repetition

Vincent van Gogh painted over 2,000 works in just over a decade. But what’s most striking isn’t just the volume—it’s the repetition. Sunflowers. Cypress trees. Wheat fields. His bedroom. The same subjects appear again and again, sometimes with only subtle variations.

Why? Why would a man so gifted, so imaginative, return obsessively to the same scenes?

This is the story of how Van Gogh’s repetition wasn’t a lack of ideas—but a manifestation of obsession, emotion, and a desperate search for meaning through paint.

The Pattern: Familiar Subjects, Infinite Emotion

Van Gogh painted:

• Sunflowers: Over a dozen versions, each with different light, color, and mood.

• His Bedroom in Arles: Three nearly identical paintings, each slightly altered.

• Wheat Fields: Dozens of canvases, from calm harvests to stormy skies.

• Self-Portraits: More than 35, each capturing a different psychological state.

These weren’t copies. They were variations—each one a new emotional fingerprint.

The Emotional Core: Repetition as Ritual

For Van Gogh, repetition was not redundancy—it was ritual. A way to:

• Process emotion: Each version reflected his shifting mental state.

• Seek control: In a chaotic mind, familiar subjects offered stability.

• Pursue perfection: He believed that painting the same thing again brought him closer to truth.

“It is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning,” he wrote.

The Influence of Mental Illness

Van Gogh lived with severe mental health struggles—likely a combination of bipolar disorder, depression, and possibly epilepsy. His obsessive repetition may have been a symptom of:

• Hyperfocus during manic episodes

• Compulsive behavior as a coping mechanism

• Emotional anchoring during depressive lows

Repetition became a lifeline—a way to stay tethered to something real.

The Artistic Philosophy: Seeing Beyond the Surface

Van Gogh once said he wanted to paint not what he saw, but what he felt. By returning to the same subjects, he could strip away the literal and reveal the emotional essence.

A sunflower wasn’t just a flower. It was joy, hope, fragility, faith.

Each repetition was a new attempt to capture the unseeable.

The Legacy: Obsession That Became Immortality

Van Gogh died thinking he was a failure. But today, his repeated subjects are among the most beloved in art history.

His obsession didn’t limit him—it defined him. It gave us a window into a soul that couldn’t stop searching, feeling, and painting.

Conclusion: The Beauty of Obsession

Van Gogh didn’t paint the same thing because he lacked imagination. He painted it because he saw infinite meaning in the familiar. Because each brushstroke was a prayer, a question, a cry.

And in that repetition, he found something eternal.

💡 Remember:

Take a moment to reflect: How does this relate to your own obsessions?

Not everything you obsess over needs a cure ... Not every fascination needs fixing. 

Some obsessions just need understood, Some just deserve to be seen.

🧭 This entry is just the beginning — Obsessionpedia is just getting started — and it's growing.  Stay tuned for updates and new features coming soon. 🔍 Keep exploring — discover more topics that speak to you. New posts added daily , every obsession has a story , Reflect on your own.

Suggested Reading

• The Neuroscience of Artistic Obsession

• When Repetition Becomes Revelation: Artists and the Familiar

• Van Gogh’s Letters: A Window Into the Obsessive Mind

• The Psychology of Repetitive Artistic Obsession

• Mental Illness and Creative Obsession