Observation and Imagination in The Starry Night (1889) This mid-scale, oil-on-canvas painting is dominated by a moon- and star-filled night sky. It takes up three-quarters of the picture plane and appears turbulent, even agitated, with intensely swirling patterns that seem to roll across its surface like waves.
The night sky depicted by van Gogh in the Starry Night painting is brimming with whirling clouds, shining stars, and a bright crescent moon.
The curving, swirling lines of hills, mountains, and sky, the brilliantly contrasting blues and yellows, the large, flame-like cypress trees, and the thickly layered brushstrokes of Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night are engrained in the minds of many as an expression of the artist's turbulent state-of-mind.
The style he developed in Paris and carried through to the end of his life became known as Post-Impressionism, a term encompassing works made by artists unified by their interest in expressing their emotional and psychological responses to the world through bold colors and expressive, often symbolic images.
resembling a star; star-shaped or stellate. shining like stars: starry reflections on the dark water.
The Starry Night may show some subliminal religious messages, some have argued. The cypress tree at the right of the piece has been interpreted as a link between life (the town and the landscape) and death. Others have argued that the church spire was a reference to van Gogh's religious upbringing.
The ambiance in the painting evokes some rather strong emotions within the viewer. The magnificent depiction of the sky renders the viewer in a state of awe. The sky which consists of these bright gleaming stars, a rarity in today's urban lifestyle, has a way of entrancing the eyes that peer onto the painting.
The specific color scheme used in this particular painting, depending on the individual viewing it could put off a dark, relaxing, or peaceful feeling. The Starry Night, to me, has a dark sense of state, but yet the couple touches of light blue and yellow bring out a peaceful and tranquil feeling into the image.
Thus, Starry Night appears to represent van Gogh's ongoing concern with death and the afterlife and he says: "Looking at the stars always makes me dream. Why, I ask myself, shouldn't the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France?
The Mona Lisa is priceless. Any speculative price (some say over a billion dollars!) would probably be so high that not one person would be able or willing to purchase and maintain the painting. Moreover, the Louvre Museum would probably never sell it.
There are five striking elements and principles of design throughout Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. The first is the use of composition, the second is the use of color, the third is use of line, the forth is the use of movement, and the fifth is the rhythm of the painting.
There is a heavy texture throughout the painting — both the thick, impasto paint and the fragmented, unmixed colors create a kind of rough, energetic texture the unifies and enlivens the image. Textures are rendered, mainly by short, definite brush-strokes that trowel through the heavy paint.
It can be seen on coffee, mugs, t-shirts, towels, magnets, etc. Honestly, it sometimes feels as if the painting's fame has exceeded that of its creator. It is a magnificent piece of art. That Starry Night resonates with so many people is a testament to how its beauty is timeless and universal.
The Cypress Tree
Finally, the cypress is also a major feature of the work and quite possibly one of the most important. Thick, tormented and rising like a flame, it bridges together the two halves of the painting: the sky and ground. Van Gogh's decision to place it in the foreground was significant.
Van Gogh's inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic, imaginative, and emotional, for the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his struggle against madness or his comprehension of the spiritual essence of man and nature.
Van Gogh's rolling night sky full of bright stars is probably one of the world's most famous artworks. The Starry Night's home is at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Starry Night series
Van Gogh made no less than 21 variations of the Starry Night under different light conditions and weather, just because he wasn't completely satisfied with the final output. In fact, in a letter to painter Émile Bernard, Van Gogh called this painting a failure.
The Scream, painting by Edvard Munch that became his most famous work. He completed two versions in 1893, another in 1895, and yet another likely in 1910. The Scream is one of the most familiar images in modern art.
Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci
Salvator Mundi, translated to “Savior of the World,” is not only the world's most expensive painting—it's possibly the most controversial painting, as well.
The most expensive painting ever sold is the Salvator Mundi, the Saviour of the World in English, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. It was painted in the 1500s and sold for $450.3 million in 2017. The painting was acquired by Mohamed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
The Mona Lisa is one of the most valuable paintings in the world. It holds the Guinness World Record for the highest known painting insurance valuation in history at US$100 million in 1962, equivalent to $1 billion as of 2023.
Starry Night is a prime example of the distinct “expressionist” style of Vincent van Gogh; the artist employed vibrant colors and bold, experimental brushwork in order to communicate certain emotions to the viewer.
The piece I found that intrigued me was The Starry Night by Anne Sexton which takes its inspiration from the famous Van Gogh painting. 'The Starry Night' by Anne Sexton is a three-stanza poem that is divided into two sets of seven lines and one final quintain, or set of five lines.