Van Gogh's Starry Night

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When I was taking art in high school the artist that stood out to me was not Monet or Michelangelo. I was at awe of an artist that chopped his ear off and put it in an envelope to give to his mistress at a brothel. How would you react to someone giving you his or her ear and want you to keep it? That would be like Evander Holyfield giving away his ear to a person saying, “Hold this is will be worth millions one day.” That artist was Vincent Van Gogh. I want to compare the oil painting of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” to the lyrics of Don McLean and the lessons they tell. Vincent Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands in 1853. In the younger years, he wanted to dedicate his life to evangelism of the poverty. Van Gogh’s father was a pastor and his uncles and younger brother were art dealers, which Van Gogh had failed at before going into the ministry. After a few years being a pastor in Belgium, he decided to move to Brussels to begin his art studies. Van Gogh supported by his brother Theo pushes him to become the master artists known today. Even as Van Gogh was in the asylum at Saint Remy. He continued to write letters to his brother Theo to express his mental war within himself. It was in the asylum that the most famous painting came to exist. Vincent had a great imagination because he could not see the night sky. “Starry Night” shows a night sky with swirling clouds, and eleven stars illumining their existence with a crescent moon standing in a bright alluring motion. The motion in the sky keeps your attention as you move your eyes about the painting. Below the hillside horizon sits a peaceful aspect of a town with a church and steeple drawing your eyes to the center of the painting. A massive dark object to the left that h... ... middle of paper ... ...ou tried to say to me, how you suffered for your sanity, how you tried to set them free. They would not listen, they're not listening still. Perhaps they never will (The Van Gogh Gallery).” McLean tells of how Van Gogh struggled with his mental sanity and showed the world that there is always a different view on the world if you open your eyes. How we view the simple things in life or nature can make a big difference in art or even life in general but it is up to us to listen to the lessons. The truly great thing about this song is that it not only reflects the admiration that McLean has for Van Gogh in such a beautiful way, but it strikes me as a wonderful expression of gratitude, and honors the spirit of the great artist through another medium. The Van Gogh Gallery. 17 January 2008. Templeton Reid, LLC. 03 May 2009 .

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