Starry Night

Starry Night is a beautiful painting, representational in the type of art. The size of the painting is 29 in. by 36 ¼ in., and oil on canvas were the materials used. Van Gogh is using an expressive quality and an emotionalism viewpoint. On the left side of the painting, there is a group of black lines that curve in waves upward, coming to a point. To the lower right, there is a small town that leads up to hills and then mountains. The painting is set at night, and the sky is a wondrous swirl of bursting blues, greens, and a gentle yellow for the crescent moon that is in the upper right corner. Lighter values of blue shape the outlines of large stars in the sky, though some stars are smaller than others. Sometimes, there is a yellow dot, the color of the moon in the innermost circle of the star. The town is shown through light blues, and yellow squares of light show that electricity or candlelight is glowing, though no people are shown. On the left side, it is not apparent of exactly what the lines are. At first, it comes across as a sort of castle, but then you get the impression that it is a plant of some sort that is growing toward sky. As you look closer you realize that the mysterious shape is not made of black lines, but dark green, with hints of blues and blacks in its midst. Balance is shown, because the crescent moon over the town gives a taller feel to the right side, giving the left side an equal.
The objective of this painting is clearly to depict a small town, at night time, also showing a tall, unidentifiable structure that is made up of curved lines. The title, “Starry Night,” helps to discern that the night sky is clearly one of the main points. The type of art is representational, because the painting is realistic. The aesthetic viewpoint is emotionalism, as Van Gogh’s work is realistic, but you can still detect emotion within the painting. The dominant elements of art used are value, space, and texture. Value is used as far as different shades of