Art Analysis - Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

Why, I say to myself, should the spots of light in the firmament be less accessible to us
than the black spots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to go to Tarascon or
Rouen, we take death to go to a star. (Vincent Van Gogh). Painted in 1889, during Vincent Van
Goghs stay in a mental asylum, Starry Night is one of the most famous landscape paintings of
all time. Van Goghs unique way of seeing the world while battling mental illness and depression
has added to the mystique of this particular piece, which has captivated people for over a
century.
Starry Night is a landscape, portraying a nighttime scene created from Van Goghs
memory. The piece is painted using oil on canvas. Van Gogh is known for his brush strokes,
bold thick lines of colour that come together to create a masterpiece. His blending technique is
achieved from the placement of different shades of colour next to each other, not from a clean
gradient. This creates the effect of movement of the piece, which appears full of life. The scene
depicts a quiet town under the stars. A key part of this painting is the roundness of it, as there
are no real sharp edges, besides the cypress and the spire of the church. Even the small
houses themselves arent strictly geometrical, they have a curviness to them that matches the
rest of the piece. Above the town is the eye catching centerpiece of this painting, the vibrant sky.
The churning blue and white guides the eye from the left corner to the right, incorporating the
bright balls of yellow light in its pattern. This degree of depth is unusual for a painting of its time.
It adds an air of madness into this otherwise very calming piece. Van Gogh also incorporates a
lot of repetition through reflection. The rolling sky is mirrored in the hills in the background, and
the yellow stars are mirrored in the windows of the houses below. Finally, the dark cypress on
the left pulls the piece together. It is considerably darker than the rest of the painting, and its
brown and green juxtaposes with the bright blue of the rest of the piece. The cypress is used to

allow the dark town to flow seamlessly into the sky. It guides the eye from the bottom right of the
painting to the top left, and completes the visual circle; he swirling sky brings the eye to the right
and down. This sweeping movement one follows when looking at the piece parallels the flowing
theme of the painting. The point of the cypress tree is another mirrored element, reflected in the
similar shape of the church spire to its right. Both help connect the ground to the sky, or the
civilisation to nature.
Van Gogh was a troubled man - he had various mental and physical illnesses which
plagued him, some diagnosed, some not. He was probably manic depressive and bipolar, which
may have contributed to his manic episodes, like when he cut off his own ear to give to a girl.
He lived a pretty bleak life, filled with loneliness and alcoholism. Painting was his only source of
happiness, and it was partly squandered by the fact that no one appreciated him. Something is
to be said, however, about his persistence, despite a lack of recognition. He created over two
thousand works of art in his career of only around ten years, and continued to work hard until
his untimely death. This shows his honest devotion to the craft, something that was not
provoked by anything other than himself. This painting was, in fact, painted of the view from his
room during his stay at an asylum in Saint Remy. He was checked in after his self - mutilation of
his ear. The painting was not entirely accurate to his view, though. He added the church, which
is more in the style of the Netherlands, his home, than of France. Vincent Van Gogh was
influential to expressionism and post-impressionism. His brush strokes and masterful use of
colour have inspired countless artists since his death. This particular piece is significant
because it was painted during his lowest period, a stay at a mental institution, yet captures
nature so beautifully. Even when he was mentally distraught, he never lost his unique and
incredible view of the world.
In Vincent Van Goghs case, it is almost impossible to separate the artist from the art. He
was tortured by his depression and illnesses, and he portrays these emotions in his paintings.
Starry Night had been perceived as a reflection on life and death. The flowing sky represents

death, a death that leads to heaven. Van Gogh was a religious man, and one of his former
careers before painting was a pastor. The village below could represent life. The cypress is a
tree usually seen in cemeteries, and is associated with mourning. In this sense, it could
represent the path taken from life to death, as it integrates the two halves of the painting. The
mirroring of the point reaching into the sky from the church spire is not only a reference to his
home and his religious past, but could also be a statement about the way to get to heaven,
through religion. He could be imagining what heaven will look like, or stating that death is a path
you take to get to heaven. The fact that the sky, representing life after death, is brighter and
more vibrant than the small town, representing life, is indicative of his mental state at the time.
Another interpretation draws from the bright spots of yellow in the night setting. Even in the
darkest times of his life, he could always see light, and therefore hope. Whichever way the
painting is interpreted, it is influenced by the painter himself. Van Goghs mental health as a
cause or inspiration for his art has been debated countless times. However, some believe that,
while he was depressed, his art stands alone and can be seen as separate from his troubled
mind. Others think that one of the reasons his art is so influential today is because he created
such beauty from a place of such darkness.
Although there is no one definitive answer as to what this painting is trying to say, one
aspect of it is unanimously acknowledged. The hypnotizing rhythm and dreamlike colours make
this a piece of art that is universally loved. Van Gogh lived a grim life which ended too soon. He
was not appreciated during his time here, but he left behind a legacy of stunning art which
continues to awe and inspire people to this day.

Works Cited

"MoMA Learning." MoMA. Target. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

"Vincent Van Gogh Gallery." Vincent Van Gogh Gallery. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

"Starry Night." Artble. 2016. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

"Vincent Van Gogh Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works." The Art Story. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
Jones, Jonathan. "A Short History of Mental Illness in Art." The Guardian. Guardian News and
Media, 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
"Vincent Van Gogh Critical Reception." Artble. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

The Starry Night of Van Goghs Mind

Maria Barr
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Mr. Fowler, Comparative Civilisations 12