Analysis of Starry Night:
Vincent van Gogh painted Starry Night in 1889 on oil canvas. The painting is currently stored in New York, The Museums of Modern Art. The painting is one of the most famous and celebrated works by Gogh (Thomson, Museum of Modern Art, 2008). Starry Night has been the subject of fiction and poetry for many years due to its distinctive style. Artist such as Don Mclean has helped maintain the mystery behind the painting by producing songs such as ‘Starry Starry Night and ‘Vincent.' One of the main reasons why the painting remains a mystery to many is the fact that no one can tell for sure Gogh’s feelings towards the painting.
The main reason his personal feelings remain unknown towards the painting, is the fact that he only mentions the painting twice, and only in passing, in his known written letters to Theo, this being letter 607 and letter 595 (Costache, 2012). In his letters to Theo, Vincent made it a habit to discuss all his painting in a detailed manner. However, he chooses to remain silent on his personal views towards Starry Night. Although many theories have been conjured to explain his change in habits, no one can say for certain why he chooses to remain silent about this particular painting. When painting the painting Gogh was seeking refuge in Saint-Remy. According to records from that era, his behaviour at the time was far from predictable because of the harshness of the attacks he was getting. Another contradiction that helps deepen the mystery of the painting is the fact that Gogh always painted all his painting from an outdoor setting. However, for this painting Gogh chose to paint it from memory, something that baffles many art enthusiasts.
Compered to many of his paintings from the same era, Starry Night is by far with the most emotional context display. Experts have attributed this to the mind frame that he was in at the time. In an effort to understand the paintings contextual meaning, enthusiasts of his work have made comparisons to other paintings he did at the period such as Wheatfield with Crows. One of the answers that Yonghui Zhao, an expert in 19th century paintings, has come up with as subject to the painting is that the painting reflected on a man who was having trouble connecting with his tortured mind (Zhao, 2008). One of the questions that many ask is whether the swirls in the sky on the painting hold any deeper meaning or are of any contextual value to the meaning of the painting. This questions and arguments have made the painting Gogh’s most discussed and interpreted painting.
In his work, Gogh paints eleven stars, which have also been subject to speculations during the years. According his religious history, Gogh did not have the same religious believe as he had in 1889 while painting Starry Night (Boime, 2008). Some of the speculations that have come from this include the possibility that he drew the context of the stars from a story in the bible about Joseph. Experts view that the context of the painting came from Genesis 37:9 in the old testaments, which mentions eleven stars and the moon bowing to Joseph. Inconsiderate of the contextual meaning of the painting, Starry Night remains as one of the most important and famous paintings of its era, and will remain to draw different speculations because of its creativity and mystery (Boime, 2008).
Reference:
Boime, A. (2008). Revelation of modernism: Responses to cultural crises in fin-de-siècle painting. Columbia: University of Missouri Press
Costache, I. D. (2012). The art of understanding art. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Held, R. (1942). Analysis of "The starry night" by Vincent van Gogh. New York: s.n.
Maurer, N. E., Gogh, V. ., & Gauguin, P. (1998). The pursuit of spiritual wisdom: The thought and art of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Madison, N.J: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.
Thomson, R., & Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.). (2008). Vincent Van Gogh: The starry night. New York: Museum of Modern Art.
Zhao, Y. (2008). Image Segmentation and Pigment Mapping of Cultural Heritage Based on Spectral Imaging. New York. ProQuest.
