Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night at St. Rémy
Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night at St. Rémy of June 1889, expresses
the comforting power and spirituality of the infinite night sky over
the humbler, earthly brand of nature through a synthesis of
exceptional visual power, elements of religious allegory, and of
modern spiritualism. This work is the product of van Gogh's refusal to
depict the purely imaginary, but willful manipulation of what is real
in order to achieve a more powerful work, both visually and through
symbolism and allegory. Starry Night is more powerful than van Gogh's
literal Agony of Christ would have been because, in separating itself
from imagery that is strictly religious in its connotations, he was
able to saturate the work with cultural and literary meanings that
could appeal to a society no longer confined to the rhetoric of
organized religion. Moreover, the work is so visually effective in its
depiction of a reassuring yet euphoric mood that it need not rely on
subject matter for audience response. Starry Night is the product of a
long and intensive thought process, and is a carefully constructed
synthesis of culture, religion, science, aesthetics, and compositional
elements.
What does van Gogh attempt to define in his painting, Starry Night at
St. Rémy – through my interpretation it reveals a complex view of real
world essentials, manipulated to communicate a sense of calm within
the universe. In doing so, van Gogh drew upon cultural, and biblical
sources to enable himself to present a scene that is composed of facts
synthesized and altered to enhance mood and meaning.
Starry Night at St. Rémy is an oil-on-canvas, (29 x 36 1/4" (73.7 x
92.1 cm)) depiction of an unusual, chaotic, star-studded night sky
above a hilly landscape upon which stand the bony architectural forms
of a small town. In the left foreground, pressed close to the picture
plane, is a dark, flame-like cypress that twists upwards into the sky,
dividing the heavens. Below and to the right, a spindly church tower
just barely pierces the horizon like a tiny needle, dwarfed by the
vastness of the rolling sky. Van Gogh paints the tree and the sky with
overlapping, rapid, and curving strokes that create a great sense of
vibrant, swirling motion. The hills and olive trees that line the town
he executes with a similar but more restrained, t...
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...ing is that we cannot get to a star while we are alive, any
more than we can take the train when we are dead.
So to me it seems possible that cholera, gravel, tuberculosis and
cancer are the celestial means of locomotion, just as steamboats,
buses and railways are the terrestrial means. To die quietly of old
age would be to go there on foot (Van Gogh, 605).
It is van Gogh’s unselfishness toward his art that has allowed me to
honor Starry Night at St. Rémy. Through his unrelenting
determination, van Gogh was able to capture one night in a history of
millions and have it live for eternity.
Current Location: The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest.
Works Cited
Brooks, David. Van Gogh Gallery. February 2003.
Corcoran, Julia. The Museum of Modern Art. January 29, 2003
Malyon, John. Artcyclopedia. Vincent Van Gogh. January 18, 2003.
Schapiro, Myer. Van Gogh. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers,
n.d.
Van Gogh, Vincent. The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh, vol 3, 3
ed. New York. Bulfinch Press, 2000.
Zurcher, Bernard. Vincent Van Gogh - Art Life and Letters. Thunder Bay
Press. New York, 1985.
Howe, Tom. "George Orwell." British Writers Volume VII. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Scribner, 1984. 273-287.
For example, the church looks like the ones in Holland, where he used to live. The whirling lines in the sky, however, match published astronomical observations of clouds of dust and gas known as nebulae. It is both balanced and expressive, and the composition is structured by his ordered placement of the tree, steeple, and central nebulae, while his many short brush strokes and paint that is thickly applied set causes its surface to create a rolling motion. This combination of visual contrasts was created by an artist who discovered beauty and interest in the night, which, for him, was “much more alive and richly colored than the
Vincent Van Gogh is celebrated today as the greatest Dutch painter, besides Rembrandt (“Vincent Willem”). Born in Holland on March 30, 1853, Van Gogh had five other siblings and two parents, and although his mother was an artist, he never bothered with art until much later in his life (“Vincent Willem”). Van Gogh had many shortcomings in his little and dismal time on earth and it was not until his late twenties, after all else had failed, that he gave art a chance. Thanks to the help of his older brother Theo, Van Gogh was able to put all of his emotions and mental worries into productive use, creating masterpieces that are sold today for millions of dollars (“Vincent Willem”). Although he is hugely successful today, Van Gogh had little to no fame in his lifetime and he struggled immensely with his mental state of mind for many years. Ultimately his mental illness (some believe there were more than one) lead to his untimely death, but his turbulent state of mind also helped him to create magnificent images that are revered as some of the greatest pieces of art of today.
Faggin, Giorgio T and Hughes, Robert. The Complete Paintings of the Van Eycks. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1976. Print.
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Vincent Van Gogh never gave up his style and insight in his early work compared to his later work. I will discuss the comparison of the Potato Eaters and Starry Night and even though there are obvious differences, the core of his passion and eccentricities can be seen.
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