Meaning of the painting The Starry Night by Van Gogh

The starry Night It is a painting painted in 1889 by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). It is considered one of the most important paintings of the painter for its unique and original style, which marked a turning point in post-impressionist art.

The oil is currently in the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA). The original title of the painting is By Sterrennacht and is translated into English as The Starry Night.

Frame analysis The starry Night

Oil The starry Night It was painted by the artist Vincent van Gogh during his voluntary internment in the Saint Paul de Mausole psychiatric hospital, outside Saint Remy, France. Vincent van Gogh renounces the impressionist way of direct observation of nature, to capture shapes and colors of the most imaginary and intimate sphere. The personal interpretation of him gives rise to his own and unique style.

Iconographic description

The composition is divided into a sort of two horizontal stripes or sections: the celestial vault and the landscape.

The celestial vault and the stars

In the celestial vault we see a night sky with eleven stars with their own halo, vibrant and exaggerated. Two nebulous spirals that hug each other creating the sensation of movement and fluidity, as in the direction of the moon. This is in the upper right corner in a waning state, and stands out with the range of yellow tones, equally bright and vibrant, as if it were more like a sun.

The terrestrial landscape

At the base of the canvas, we can see a landscape loaded with hills and mountains with shallow curves and a town, full of houses, wheat fields and olive groves, which reaffirms the apparent horizontality of the vault light blue.

Two elements of the composition break that horizontality and, together with the starry sky, capture the viewer's attention: the church tower and a cypress tree. These are the only two elements that point skyward. These elements subtly break the composition, maintain balance and direct the gaze to the painter's focus of interest: the starry night.

Colors

The distribution of the white, yellow, green and blue colors that the painter applies in the sky are much more vivid than the dark tones used in the city. The use of white and yellow to create the effect of spirals draws the viewer's attention to the sky.

The technique

Among the characteristics of Van Gogh's work it is necessary to take into account the technique. The artist has opted for oil on canvas, but his treatment is absolutely personal. Leaving aside the principles of spatial depth as well as the idea of ​​finishing, the painter post-impressionist uses the thick brushstroke, already concentric, already undulating, as if he were imitating a popular fabric.

The lines also accentuate the contrast between the sky and the city. The city is created with short, square and straight lines instilling serenity and accentuating the opposition of the frenzied curves of the sky.

The painting is made with energetic and pasty brushstrokes that form grooves and reliefs. The lines are dynamic as they wind and undulate through the painting, creating a sense of continuous movement.

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Meaning

Many have argued that this Van Gogh canvas is an expression of his emotionality. At its most elemental level, The starry Night It represents the view of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence to which Van Gogh had access from the window of the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Arles, where he was held between 1889 and 1890.

However, not all researchers point in that direction. Apparently The starry Night of Van Gogh, related to a circumstance of his personal life, would also be linked to a reading of his historical time.

According to Stephen F. Eisenman in the book Critical history of 19th century art, the objects that Van Gogh represents on the canvas are also an expression of a romantic anti-capitalist imaginary:

Dingy cypress trees, church steeples, peasant dwellings with lit homes, hills and stars and planets.

In fact, Eisenman adds that:

The play is partly a dream about a utopian future based on the imagined social integrity of a simpler past.

The researcher Albert Boime also accuses a reading that transcends the mere justification of personal relief. His hypothesis, however, is different from Eisenman's. In his book The starry night: the history of matter and the matter of history, Boime maintains that, after a detailed study of the composition, he has preferred to see the painter:

...as a realistic and not as a mad who has calmed his madness at the easel.

Where is Boime pointing? According to the researcher, the work cannot be reduced to a mere relief. On the contrary, Boime maintains that the artist had devotedly studied astronomy and astrology, and this has been reflected on the canvas. For example, regarding the moon, he maintains that the direction of his horns point to the east, that is, that Van Gogh has represented the hour close to dawn.

Indeed, the internal elements of the night sky of The starry Night They have been exhaustively analyzed, especially the most luminous star in the table, which according to current research would correspond to the planet Venus.

Thus, in the midst of the painter's emotional storm, it is likely that he wanted to trap on the canvas an astronomical and astrological record of his destiny. Most likely, this sky opens a great question about the future of Van Gogh and also about the utopia of salvation.

Other paintings by Vincent van Gogh

The most famous works of art by the Dutch painter are:

• The starry night over the Rhone (1888)
• The sunflowers (1888)
• Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin (1888)
• Self portrait (1889)
• Self portrait with halo (1888)
• The sower (1888)

University professor, singer, Bachelor of Arts (Cultural Promotion mention), Master of Literature Compared by the Central University of Venezuela, and PhD candidate in History at the Autonomous University of Lisbon.