Although a prolific artist, Vincent van Gogh is most often remembered for his Sunflower paintings. The first Sunflowers, painted in Paris during the summer of 1887, used dark colors and featured only 1 or 2 blossoms each. However, van Gogh continued to experiment with the Sunflower, and in August 1888, while waiting in Arles for his friend, Paul Gaugain, van Gogh painted at least 4 brilliantly colored Sunflower paintings, using riotous yellows, oranges and reds. Gaugain admired the colorful Sunflower series so much, that two of the paintings hung in his bedroom. It was at the end of this visit to the South of France that van Gogh descended into madness, ultimately severing his own ear. In his own defense, Gaugain claims that he encouraged van Gogh to utilize "bugle notes" of bright cheerful colors, inspiring the Sunflower paintings.