Author: Vincent van Gogh, 1889
Technique: Oil on canvas
Style: Post-impressionism
Dimensions: 29 in × 36 1/4 in
Location: Museum of Modern Art, New York City
There is no doubt that "The starry night" is one of the most recognized images of modern culture, in addition its creator is also quite popular. If we hear something about "Van Gogh" two thoughts will automatically come to our mind: the ear that he cut himself in a fit of madness and this painting.
Although the paintings of Van Gogh over time became artistic successes, while he lived, he only could sell two of his works. Today is one of the most popular artists of post-impressionism recognized for its colorful and illuminated scenarios as well as finely painted portraits that catch our eyes.
Van Gogh painted "The Starry Night" while he was voluntarily in the Saint Paul de Mausole lunatic asylum in Saint-Rémy, France, where he was hospitalized since the end of 1888 after suffering a mental collapse. The basis of his inspiration was the view from his window, he would comment by correspondence to his brother Theo the following:
"This morning I saw the field before dawn from my window, with nothing but the morning star, which was very large."
After several days of work, he managed to finish it in June 1889. As impossible as it may seem, Van Gogh considered his painting a failure. After having completed many of his works in the asylum he told his brother:
_"In all the things that I have worked that I consider satisfactory are the Field of Wheat, the Mountain, the Orchard, the Olive Trees with Blue Hills, the Portrait and the Entrance to the Quarry. The rest does not tell me anything. " _
Van Gogh would never imagine the impact and fame that his painting would generate years later.
Analysis
There are many intriguing aspects when looking at this image in detail, let's review some of them.
We appreciate a night sky full of clouds with wavy movements, stars burning for their own brightness, and a bright moon that becomes into one of the most striking figures. The sky keeps the movement in the observer's eyes, the lights seem to flicker and rotate at the same time.
Below the rolling hills we’ll find a small village. The town is still and stable, made with straight and short lines, in contrast to those frenetic curves of the sky. The small lights of the houses are, unlike the stars, square and not very bright. Light does not manifest itself except in the shapes of the moon and the stars as solid radiations.
In this way, Van Gogh wants to make it clear that the main theme of the work is represented in heaven and not on earth.
Some theories indicate that the main theme of this painting is death due to two reasons: the first is that the trees that can be seen are cypresses, commonly associated with cemeteries. The other reason is from a comment he made in which he said the following:
"Looking at the stars always makes me dream. Why, I wonder, should not the bright spots of the sky be as accessible as the black spots on the map of France? Just as we took the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star. "
There is no doubt that Van Gogh didn’t feel a great passion for life, so he would end up shooting himself months after completing this masterpiece, maybe with this painting he was already telling us where his intentions were going.
Curiosities
Some historians agree that the work was based more on their creativity than on reality, because from its window it was not possible to see the province of Saint-Remy. But there is not security if it was based on several sketches of the town, or if it was inspired by his hometown in Netherlands.
Van Gogh, without realizing it, portrayed the planet Venus. This fact was discovered by the art historian Albert Boime, who compared the painting with a recreation of a planetarium of the day Van Gogh was inspired, specifically on June 19, 1889. It was found that both were very similar, confirming that the star of the one he wrote to Theo, it was really Venus.