The Starry Night, By Vincent Van Gogh

The Starry Night is a post impressionist painting by Vincent Van Gogh that was created not long after he arrived at asylum in Saint Remy France in 1889. This is oil on canvas that measures 73.70” X 92.10”. This work is currently owned and housed by the Museum of Modern Art, which is located in New York City, New York. The work depicts the pre-dawn view from his room at the Saint Remy Lunatic Asylum. It features a bright, turbulent night sky, which is framed in the foreground by a small village and wheat field with rolling hills in the background. Van Gogh voluntarily checked himself into the Lunatic Asylum at Saint Remy following a mental breakdown that resulted in the loss of his ear. The Starry Night is perhaps the artist’s most well known piece.
Perhaps most importantly, the artist utilizes whites and blacks to create contrast and to draw the viewer into the painting. For example the moon and stars are isolated from the rest of the sky with a halo of white, ensuring that the bright colors aren’t lost among the colors of the dark sky. Van Gogh enhances this palate with the use of thick brush strokes that create a powerful turbulent sky that looms silently over the quiet village. Van Gogh depicts the night sky with circular clouds, stars, and a bright crescent moon. The swirling clouds create movement in the painting that directs the viewer’s eye to move fluidly throughout the image. The curving lines of the Cyprus trees emulate the fluidity of the sky, but serve to break it up, allowing for a more balanced composition.