The Starry Night By Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh, sometimes mistaken for his older brother Theo, stated that the night was “more alive than the day.” This led to many vibrantly colored impasto oil paintings of the dark and starry sky. (Impasto is the technique of creating thick texture using a build up of paint.) These turned out to be some of his best and most famous pieces, that went on to shape expressionism, fauvism, and early abstraction periods of art. Van Gogh had an interesting background that preceded these works, that led to many successful paintings. Vincent began his life born in Zundert, Netherlands, on March 30th, 1853. He was raised as a traditional Dutch by his two parents. His father was a pastor in North Brabant, and his mother was an artist, whom we assume

He used mainly oil paints, but would also use graphite, and water colors. His work was greatly influenced by other post impressionist’s works, therefore his took on that same type of look. One of his most famous pieces, The Starry Night, was created while he was in a mental asylum in 1889. It was believed to show what his view was from his window while in the asylum. He died 13 months after completing it. This piece was 73.70cm x 92.10cm in perimeter. It was painted using oil paints, as well as the impasto technique discussed earlier. The Starry Night’s focal point would most definitely have to be the electric sky. The vibrant colors and contrast between the silent town below and the alive sky create a feeling of dramatic change and “nighttime energy” that draws in the viewer. The short, choppy strokes in the swirling stars also creates a sense of dimension and movement that is appealing to the eye, and that creates a captivating subject

Personally, I felt that I interpreted it a little differently than Van Gogh intended. He wanted the tall tree on the left to symbolize mourning, while I was unsure of what it actually was in the first place. The tree also intentionally touches the ground and the sky, trying to create a symbol of Vincent’s thoughts about death; that death is the end destination of everyone’s life journey. Another source of symbolism that shows Van Gogh’s personal thoughts of opinions is the swirling and brightly colored paint strokes in the sky. These create an illusion of movement in the sky, and at the same time give it an abundance of energy. These two things combined represent Van Gogh’s statement that night was “more alive than the