In this post, I will be taking a closer look at “The Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh, which he painted in 1889. With swirling lines and dramatic colors, this dreamy depiction is one of van Gogh’s most iconic works. “I don’t know anything with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me dream.” Vincent van Gogh Interesting Facts About “The Starry Night” Swirling Brushwork Used to Create a Sense of Movement and Turbulence Color and Light Where Realism Meets Abstraction Key Takeaways Additional Readings Want to Learn More? Thanks for Reading! Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889 Interesting Facts About “The Starry Night” The painting is based on van Gogh’s view from his room in the mental asylum at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. It was painted from memory during the day, as he was not able to paint from his room. But he was able to create sketches in ink and charcoal. Vincent van Gogh, Starry Night Drawing, 1889 “The Starry Night” is one in a series of 21 versions based on the same subject. It is the only night version in the series. Letters from van Gogh to his brother Theo provide insights into van Gogh’s inspiration and fascination with the night. In 1889 he wrote, “Through the iron-barred window I can make out a square of wheat in an enclosure, above which in the morning I see the sun rise in its glory.”Although it is one of his most famous works, he initially considered the painting to be a failure based on his letters to suggests the moon was not actually in the crescent phase, as depicted in the painting. Rather, it would have been about three-quarters full, but van Gogh probably painted it this way for stylistic also suggests that the brightest “star” in the painting, just to the right of the large cypress tree pictured below, may actually be Venus which would have been visible at the time van Gogh was painting in the asylum. Swirling Brushwork Used to Create a Sense of Movement and Turbulence When I think of “The Starry Night”, the first thing which comes to mind is the swirling brushwork which creates a sense of movement and turbulence, especially in the sky. In fact, a physicist by the name of Jose Luis Aragon suggested that the swirling brushwork in paintings like “The Starry Night” have an uncanny resemblance to the mathematical expression of real turbulence shown in natural occurrences like whirlpools and air streams. You can read more on this here. Van Gogh used a loaded brush to build up a thick, impasto texture which you can see in the close-ups below. This impasto texture is a key feature in many of van Gogh’s works. Color and Light In a letter to his brother Theo, van Gogh wrote that the “starry night is more alive and more richly colored than the day”. This may explain his exaggerated use of of color. Van Gogh used rich blues and yellows to paint the night sky, with light greens scattered throughout. His lack of blending creates a broken color effect, which seems to reiterate the sense of movement and turbulence in the painting. The colors appear to vibrate as your eyes bounce between all the distinct colors. He painted the light of the stars, moon and houses by contrasting vivid yellows and oranges against the blues and greens in the rest of the painting. If you look closely, you will see that in most cases he used a saturated yellow or orange in the centre, then used lighter but less saturated colors around the outside. He used a light green almost as an interim color to transition from the bright yellows and oranges to the deep blues. Green being what you get when you mix yellow and blue together. By doing that, there appears to be some kind of color gradation even though he did not use any blending. Where Realism Meets Abstraction To me, this painting marks an interesting area somewhere between realism and complete abstraction. Van Gogh pushed the colors and style in order to depict his unique interpretation of the world, but not so much as to lose all qualities of realism and representation. You know exactly what the subject is, but it is far from what you would see in life. I enjoy this area in painting as I think it allows for some personal expression, without departing too far from representational art standards. But of course, this is all just personal commentary which does not really matter. There is no right answer with this kind of stuff. Some admire van Gogh for his unique interpretations, whilst others criticise him for stepping too far away from the boundaries of reality. It is just interesting to ponder over. Key Takeaways Here are some of the key takeaways of “The Starry Night” which you could incorporate into your own paintings Exaggerating certain elements like color and perspective can really help you depict the emotions and feelings you have about a subject. In this case, van Gogh exaggerated the colors, form and perspective to create a very dreamy paint light, you could use a strong color contrast, like yellow and orange against brushwork can be used to create a sense of movement and turbulence in your repeating similar techniques and processes, you end up creating a strong style which people can remember you by. Additional Readings 11 Interesting Facts About Vincent van Gogh Inspirational Quotes by Vincent van Gogh How Vincent van Gogh Used Complementary Colors Want to Learn More? You might be interested in my Painting Academy course. I’ll walk you through the time-tested fundamentals of painting. It’s perfect for absolute beginner to intermediate painters. Thanks for Reading! I appreciate you taking the time to read this post and I hope you found it helpful. Feel free to share it with friends. Happy painting! Dan Scott Draw Paint Academy About Supply List Featured Posts Products Enjoyed this post? Join over 123,000 artists who subscribe to the Draw Paint Academy newsletter.

The Starry Night aesthetic is created by Van Gogh's use of color, light, and brushstrokes. For this oil on canvas painting, Van Gogh applied the paint directly to the canvas, resulting in very intense color and paint that stands up off the canvas' surface. The top two-thirds of the canvas is the night sky, with a small town nestled between the Alpilles mountains and an olive grove. The sky is full of energy created by short, circular brushstrokes of intense blue around glowing yellow and white circular stars and a crescent moon. The morning star, just to the left of center, glows brightest. The blue of the sky is blended into the black mountains. There is a large cypress tree on the left in the foreground that moves and sways with the same energy as the sky. It has been described as flame-like. The cypress reaches almost the entire height of the painting. The small village in the center is a juxtaposition, with straight brushstrokes in muted greys and blacks. The church spire reaches into the sky, mirroring the cypress tree. Yellow lights glow from the village windows. The church is notably dark, with no light shining from its windows. It is the sky that draws the eye, with its energy, swirling movement, and dream-like quality. To unlock this lesson you must be a Member. Create your account From The Starry Night analysis, it is evident that this painting is an excellent example of Post-Impressionism, which focuses on color, light, and the artist's feelings. Nature is often the subject of paintings from this period. Van Gogh was fascinated by the night sky and believed that there were more colors in the night than during the day. He also believed that death was a way to travel to the stars. The energy and movement of the dominating night sky in this painting are in contrast to the little town with its rigid, straight brushstrokes. The bright morning star, indicating the hours before dawn, was another obsession for Van Gogh. He made many sketches of the scene out his bedroom window at this time of night. The large cypress, also depicted with energetic brushstrokes, connects earth and sky like life and death. The Starry Night MeaningPost-Impressionist paintings are full of symbolism; and The Starry Night is no different. The Starry Night meaning is usually associated with Van Gogh's deteriorating mental health. The blues he used in this painting are a return to the colors he used previously during his struggles with mental illness. The swirling brushstrokes may also indicate his mental state. The dark church, painted from memory, has a steeple more like the Dutch churches of his youth, reminiscent of his deeply religious childhood. Surprisingly, the church does not have any light coming from the windows. The cypress tree was recognized as a symbol of graveyards and mourning. He wrote extensively in his letters to his brother Theo about stars, which dominate this painting, symbolizing for him dreaming, heaven, and death. It may be that The Starry Night foreshadowed Vincent Van Gogh's death by suicide one year after completing this painting. To unlock this lesson you must be a Member. Create your account The Starry Night was painted at The Saint Paul de Mausole asylum in France Van Gogh painted The Starry Night from memory in his studio The Starry Night is part of The Nocturne, a three painting set Van Gogh felt the painting was a failure Van Gogh died by suicide a year after completing The Starry Night The Starry Night was purchased in 1941 by The Museum of Modern Art in New York City The Starry Night is part of pop culture and is seen on everything, from mugs to T-shirts The Starry Night is included in The Immersive Van Gogh exhibit The Starry Night is worth over 100 million dollars today To unlock this lesson you must be a Member. Create your account Vincent Van Gogh painted The Starry Night while staying in The Saint Paul de Mausole asylum in France. He went to the asylum for mental illness treatment after cutting off part of his ear. The Starry Night aesthetic is an oil on canvas painting with swirling brush strokes, bright yellow and white circular stars, and a crescent moon. A small village is painted in the lower third of the painting with straight strokes of black and brown paint. A large cypress tree rises nearly the entire height of the painting on the left. It has similar energetic brushstrokes. A church spire reaches for the sky near the middle of the painting. To unlock this lesson you must be a Member. Create your account Analysis of the PaintingWhile van Gogh provided, via extensive letters to his brother, commentary on many of his works, he wrote shockingly little about The Starry Night. However, we do know that The Starry Night was not Vincent van Gogh's first attempt at painting the night sky, and by comparing the work to the earlier painting Starry Night Over the Rhone, one is able to make several inferences about how van Gogh felt by this point of his life. Starry Night Over the Rhone and The Starry Night Foremost, the humanity represented by Starry Night Over the Rhone is much brighter, as evidenced not only by the brightness of the windows, but the depths at which they are reflected on the river. Furthermore, the darkness of the sky is brighter than in The Starry Night, which, in the latter painting, is a symbol for depression. In the distance, the lighter blue is seen by some critics as the first signs of morning. It is important to note that here the optimism comes from the sky, not from the town. Description of the PaintingPainted by Vincent van Gogh just months before his tragic suicide, The Starry Night is perhaps his greatest masterpiece. In the work, van Gogh portrays a nameless European village amidst a dark wilderness, complete with dampened lights. Some buildings manage to emit just enough light to be noticed, but others, including, notably, the church, are dark and unwelcoming. However, the real action is what is going on above the town, where the moon and stars light up the sky. Light moves across the sky in great sweeps and strokes, defeating the dark sky wherever it is encountered. However, the stars are not enough to light up the whole sky, and between the viewer, the town, and the stars, there are vast fields of dark blue, a constant reminder of the depression and fear felt throughout the artist's life. Despite the best efforts of the stars above and the town below, the darkness still is not completely overcome. Analysis of the PaintingWhile van Gogh provided, via extensive letters to his brother, commentary on many of his works, he wrote shockingly little about The Starry Night. However, we do know that The Starry Night was not Vincent van Gogh's first attempt at painting the night sky, and by comparing the work to the earlier painting Starry Night Over the Rhone, one is able to make several inferences about how van Gogh felt by this point of his life. Starry Night Over the Rhone and The Starry Night Foremost, the humanity represented by Starry Night Over the Rhone is much brighter, as evidenced not only by the brightness of the windows, but the depths at which they are reflected on the river. Furthermore, the darkness of the sky is brighter than in The Starry Night, which, in the latter painting, is a symbol for depression. In the distance, the lighter blue is seen by some critics as the first signs of morning. It is important to note that here the optimism comes from the sky, not from the town. To unlock this lesson you must be a Member. Create your account

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analisis lukisan the starry night