Lourdes Angeline N.

Barcoma 2Y – PM –
G06

The Starry Night, 1889 by Vincent Van Gogh

A. Factual Meanings
(Source: https://www.vincentvangogh.org/starry-night.jsp)

1) Vincent Van Gogh painted "Starry Night" in 1889 from a room in the mental asylum at
Saint-Remy where was recovering from mental illness and his ear amputation.

2) Van Gogh painted the view from his east-facing window in the asylum 21 times.
Although the series depicts various times of day and night and different weather conditions, all
the works include the line of rolling hills in the distance. None show the bars on the window of
his room.

3) The artist considered "The Starry Night," which one day would rank among his most
famous works, to be a failure, according to what he wrote to his brother.

4) Physicist Jose Luis Aragon compared the turbulent play of light and dark in such
works as "Starry Night" to the mathematical expression of turbulence in such natural occurrences
as as whirlpools and air streams. He found they matched very closely. Two other Van Gogh
paintings from 1890, WheatField with Crows and Road with Cypress and Star also feature this
mathematical parallel. Aragon suggests that since the artist created these particular artworks
during periods of extreme mental agitation, Van Gogh was uniquely able to accurately
communication that agitation using precise gradations of luminescence.
 5) Analysts of "Starry Night" emphasize the symbolism of the stylized cypress tree in the
foreground, linking it to death and Van Gogh's eventual suicide. However, the cypress also
represents immortality. In the painting, the tree reaches into the sky, serving as a direct
connection between the earth and the heavens. The artist may have been making more of a
hopeful statement than many credit him with. This positive interpretation of the cypress
symbolism hearkens back to a letter to his brother in which the artist likened death to a train that
travels to the stars.

6) In his 2015 book, "Cosmographics," Michael Benson contends that the inspiration
behind the distinctive swirls in the sky of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is an 1845 drawing by
astronomer William Parsons, Earl of Rosse, of the Whirlpool Galaxy.

7) Research has confirmed that the dominant morning star in the painting is actually
Venus, which was in a similar position at the time Van Gogh was working on "Starry Night,"
and it would have shone brightly, just as Van Gogh painted it.

8) The moon in the painting would not have been in the crescent phase as shown at the
time Van Gogh painted "Starry Night." In reality, it would have been gibbous, or about three-
quarters full.

9) Pathologist Paul Wolf postulated in 2001 that the artist's fondness for yellow in
paintings like "Starry Night" resulted from taking too much digitalis, a treatment in his day for
epilepsy.

B. Conventional Meaning

In Starry Night contoured forms are a means of expression and they are used to convey
emotion. Many feel that van Gogh´s turbulent quest to overcome his illness is reflected in the
dimness of the night sky. The village is painted with dark colors but the brightly lit windows
create a sense of comfort.

C. Subjective Meanings

There are various interpretations of Starry Night and one is that this canvas depicts hope.
It seems that van Gogh was showing that even with a dark night such as this it is still possible to
see light in the windows of the houses. Furthermore, with shining stars filling the sky, there is
always light to guide you. It seems that van Gogh was finally being cured of his illness and had
essentially found his heaven. He also knew that in death he would be at peace and further
portrays this by using bold colors in the Starry Night painting.