Why Van Gogh's Starry Night Is Expressionist
Starry Night
Expressionism was considered a movement in fine art, which showed a persons inner experience and feelings, instead of a realistic portrayal of an object. Expressionists tried to depict their subjective emotions and their general responses to objects and events, instead of depicting an objective reality. The artist accomplished these themes in their paintings through distortion, overstatement, primitivism, and imagination. Their paintings often showed flamboyant, jarring, violent, or forceful appliance of formal elements. Expressionist paintings became very popular through the later 19th and 20th centuries, and its quality of spontaneous self-expression is typical in a large range of modern art movements and artists (Paris WebMuseum).
This movement was post-impressionist, and unlike impressionists, they were not interested in the impression they were given by a scene, and did not look to portray the exact reflectance of light in their work. They tried to show their own illustration of the object, and what they felt is a truthful depiction of its real meaning (Fact Monster). One of the most successful and well known artists from this time is Vincent Van Gogh. In Van Gogh 's earlier career of painting, he went to Paris where he inadvertently met with Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin. Meeting them started to transform him into more of an impressionist painter. His palate was lightened and he started to use very short brushstrokes, just as the impressionist 's did. Because of hardships in his life such as unhappy romances and bad relationships with friends, he fell into fits of madness and lucidity, which lead him to the asylum in Saint-Remy for help (The Vincent Van Gogh Gallery). While in the asylum, he was determined to prove himself equal of his fellow artists, and produced what is known today as one of the best expressionist paintings made, Starry Night.
There are multiple aspects in this painting which intrigue people who view this image.
Expressionism was considered a movement in fine art, which showed a persons inner experience and feelings, instead of a realistic portrayal of an object. Expressionists tried to depict their subjective emotions and their general responses to objects and events, instead of depicting an objective reality. The artist accomplished these themes in their paintings through distortion, overstatement, primitivism, and imagination. Their paintings often showed flamboyant, jarring, violent, or forceful appliance of formal elements. Expressionist paintings became very popular through the later 19th and 20th centuries, and its quality of spontaneous self-expression is typical in a large range of modern art movements and artists (Paris WebMuseum).
This movement was post-impressionist, and unlike impressionists, they were not interested in the impression they were given by a scene, and did not look to portray the exact reflectance of light in their work. They tried to show their own illustration of the object, and what they felt is a truthful depiction of its real meaning (Fact Monster). One of the most successful and well known artists from this time is Vincent Van Gogh. In Van Gogh 's earlier career of painting, he went to Paris where he inadvertently met with Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin. Meeting them started to transform him into more of an impressionist painter. His palate was lightened and he started to use very short brushstrokes, just as the impressionist 's did. Because of hardships in his life such as unhappy romances and bad relationships with friends, he fell into fits of madness and lucidity, which lead him to the asylum in Saint-Remy for help (The Vincent Van Gogh Gallery). While in the asylum, he was determined to prove himself equal of his fellow artists, and produced what is known today as one of the best expressionist paintings made, Starry Night.
There are multiple aspects in this painting which intrigue people who view this image.
Cited: Fact Monster. 2000 – 2005. Pearson Education Publishing. 20 Oct. 2005. Paris WebMuseum. 14 Oct. 2002. BWM Foundation. 20 Oct. 2005. The Starry Night. 24 March 02. Patsy Stevens. 22 Oct. 2005. The Vincent Van Gogh Gallery. 19 Oct. 2005. Van Gogh Omni-Gatherum. 1995. The World of Watercolor. 25 Oct. 2005. < http://www.worldofwatercolor.com/VanGogh/vgomni.htm>