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Transcript

The starry night

By Vincent Van Gogh

  • Created in 1889
  • Created in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
  • Post-impressionism style
  • Medium: Oil on canvas

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MoMa, NY

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Vincent Van Gogh Gallery

A piece of history While there is only one original copy hanging in the MoMa, you can buy a print here.

THE CREATION OF STARRY NIGHT Vincent van Gogh painted Starry Night in 1889 during his stay at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Van Gogh lived well in the hospital; he was allowed more freedoms than any of the other patients. If attended, he could leave the hospital grounds; he was allowed to paint, read, and withdraw into his own room. He was even given a studio. While he suffered from the occasional relapse into paranoia and fits - officially he had been diagnosed with epileptic fits - it seemed his mental health was recovering. Unfortunately, he relapsed. He began to suffer hallucination and have thoughts of suicide as he plunged into depression. Accordingly, there was a tonal shift in his work. He returned to incorporating the darker colors from the beginning of his career and Starry Night is a wonderful example of that shift. Blue dominates the painting, blending hills into the sky. The little village lays at the base in the painting in browns, greys, and blues. Even though each building is clearly outlined in black, the yellow and white of the stars and the moon stand out against the sky, drawing the eyes to the sky. They are the big attention grabber of the painting. Source

The cypress tree Connecting earth and sky is the flamelike cypress, a tree traditionally associated with graveyards and mourning.

Exploding stars Van Gogh's night sky is a field of roiling energy. Below the exploding stars, the village is a place of quiet order

"The morning star" The artist wrote of his experience to his brother Theo: "This morning I saw the country from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big." This morning star, or Venus, may be the large white star just left of center in The Starry Night.

The church spire The hamlet, on the other hand, is invented, and the church spire evokes van Gogh's native land, the Netherlands.