THE STARRY NIGHT : Facts and Misconceptions

The Starry Night is one of the most prominent, copied and adapted pieces of art around the globe. Made by Vincent Van Gogh in the last few years of life, it is a brilliant piece of art, commonly mistaken as expressionist, it is Post-impressionist painting. Made in a mental asylum in 1889, there are many misconceptions that have been formed about the painting over the years, its composition, colours and meanings have been misinterpreted by many. Let's see if we clear out a few...


Inspiration

Van Gogh made this painting after suffering the 23 December 1888 mental breakdown, which makes quiet an anecdote, as it led to the self-mutilation  of his left ear. This led him to  voluntarily admit himself to the Saint-Paul-De-Mausole lunatic asylum on 8 May 1889, where the painting came to life. One common mistake people make is assuming that the painting was inspired by the view of the town below from his window; whereas he was neither allowed to paint in his bedroom nor does any town scenery visible from his room match that of the painting.
Saint-Paul-De-Mausole Lunatic Asylum
Gogh painted the whole painting out of his imagination though the stars of the night sky may be similar to that as seen from the window. It seems as if his mental illness also contributed in what the painting looked like. In letters to his brother and sister (Theo and Willemien), his fascination to the night sky can be seen clearly as he said that he finds the night to be a lot more colourful than the day
and that stars were more than simple white dots on black, instead appearing yellow, pink, or green.  As he put it, "I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream." By the time van Gogh arrived at Saint-Rémy, he had already painted a few night scenes, including Starry Night (Rhône) (1888).

Interpretation And Features

  •  The brush strokes in the painting are bold and swirling in the sky as well as the cypress ( tree in foreground ) which creates something of a surreal and dreamlike affect. In contrast the town is made of straight up and downs, interrupting the flow of brush strokes.
Green - swirls, Red - straights
  •  Cypress trees in the painting may signify something of hope and immortality but it is also known as the 'mournful tree'.
  • There quite a few interpretations of the painting:
    •  The light of the star and that in windows show that there will always be light to guide you. The cypress tree and steeple of the church are both pointing towards the sky, depicting both nature and man, essentially saying that in the journey to beat his illness he had found the way to peace and heaven, as the very next he committed suicide.
the cypresses and the church steeple
    •  The other interpretation is more biblical.  Genesis 37:9,"And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold the sun and the moon and the 11 stars made obeisance to me". Van Gogh might have directly referenced Genesis 37:9; a key verse in the biblical account of Joseph, ‘a dreamer’, an outcast in the company of his 11 brothers, with whom Gogh identifies himself with. It seems to be a message to Gogh's 11 main art critics, that are represented by the 11 stars and Gogh himself (Joseph)is represented by the  pair of cypress trees, which seemed dark, sinister and a tree that doesn’t fit in.  It seems as if he did so because like Joseph, he was never appreciated or included but both of them strongly believed that the tables will eventually  turn and they will rise.
11 stars - 11 art critics
  • Van Gogh's paintings were generally bright coloured yet this one is painted with mostly darker shades. This is said to be done due to the fact that he painted The Starry Night during the darkest times of his life while struggling with his mental health.
  • The colours white and yellow are used to create a spiral effect to draw attention to the sky. What seemingly goes unnoticed is that the dark blue and green are highlighted with the underlying mint green color. The buildings are also small blocks of yellow, orange and green while the church is dashed with red.
presence of mint green
  • His paintings use unusually thick and dramatized brush strokes, however there is a consistency to his technique that adds even more depth and rich texture to the art work.

 Interesting Facts

  • Van Gogh considered the starry night to be one of his greatest failures.
  •  He may have unknowingly painted the star Venus as the biggest star.
  •  It is one of the most expensive painting in the world, with its value estimated at $900 million.
  •  This maybe the Official Starry Night but it's not the first. The Original was the Starry Night of Rhone made in 1888.


The Starry Night of Rhone (1888)
  • After his arrival to Arles, France in 1888 he had been somewhat obsessed with capturing the night sky, many of his paintings are based on it. 
  • The moon in the painting was originally supposed to be in the gibbous phase ( appears in three quarters ) but eventually changed it to a crescent as it was the more recognised form.

The moon
  •  The starry night was owned twice by Theo's widow ( Theo- Van Gogh's brother), who ended up selling it to the Oldenzeel Gallery in Rotterdam.
  • The painting has been displayed in The Museum Of Modern Art of New York, since Lillie P. Bliss Bequest left her collection to them on her death.

Hope this was helpful. Please leave a comment and subscribe through the option on top and follow me on Instagram for timely updates @detail_artwith_a12.




Comments

Unknown said…
Interesting stuff to read. Keep it up.
May 15, 2020 at 11:05 PM
Minakshi said…
Well compiled and explained.
Keep it up.
May 15, 2020 at 11:12 PM
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