THE STARRY NIGHT

Vincent Van Gogh

With its emphasis on color, light, and the artist's emotions, The Starry Night is undoubtedly a
superb example of Post-Impressionism. This era's artworks frequently include natural subjects. Van
Gogh was enamored with the night sky and thought that there were more colors in the night than there
were in the day. Additionally, in his view, passing away was a means of stargazing. In contrast to the
small town's rigid, straight brushstrokes and dominant night sky's vibrancy and movement, this picture
depicts a small village. Van Gogh also became fixated by the dazzling morning star, which marks the time
before dawn. During this late-night period, he drew numerous sketches of the view outside his bedroom
window. The huge cypress, which is also painted with vigorous strokes, links the earth and the sky like
life and death.

Chefs and artists both employ a range of ingredients to create their dishes. Similar to how a
chef's combination of components can make a dish spicy or sweet, how they are combined affects the
final product. Line, shape/form, space, color, value, and texture are the ingredients of art, also referred
to as the elements of art. Innumerable combinations of the elements are composed, or arranged, by
artists to produce utterly unique works of art.

Art has lines to give it shape, and a line is one of the painting's most noticeable aspects. Take
note of the continuous spirals that Van Gogh utilizes to depict the night sky. The enormous cypress tree
on the left is painted with long, organic (curved) lines by the artist, while the small settlement below is
painted with short, pointed dashes. Line is also used by the artist to create shape. The geometric shapes
of the village dwellings are constructed and given a three-dimensional appearance using thick, dark
outlines.

Look at the cypress tree in the background to see how Van Gogh creates the appearance of
physical space on a two-dimensional painting surface. Its size can be compared to the church steeple.
The artist depicts rolling hills on the horizon in the middle area, dividing the land from the sky. Nearly
two thirds of the canvas is taken up by the night sky in the background.

Blue is The Starry Night's primary hue or color in terms of value. The artist painted the stars, the
moon, and a strip of light on the horizon in yellow and white, and there are several values (shades) of
blue that we can recognize. The town's roofs likewise reflect these highlights (brighter colors), lending
the entire piece an mysterious glow.

Van Gogh applied paint thickly across the canvas, adding roughness in layers. The brushstrokes
are more noticeable due to the thick paint. The artist gives the picture a rich texture or surface quality
by shifting the direction of his brushstrokes. The thick paint also provides the piece a surface that is
uneven and has its own distinct natural highlights and shadows when light.

The meaning of Starry Night is typically connected to Van Gogh's declining mental state. In this
painting, he returned to the blues he had previously utilized when he was fighting mental illness. His
mental state can also be indicated by the erratic brushstrokes. The dark church, which he painted from
memory, is reminiscent of his highly devout upbringing and features a steeple more akin to the Dutch
churches of his youth. Unexpectedly, there is no light coming from the windows in the church. The
cypress tree was understood to represent cemeteries and grief. The stars that dominate this image and
are a major theme in his letters to his brother Theo represent dreaming, heaven, and death for him.