Maria Revyakina, art critic:
The picture is divided into two horizontal planes: the sky (upper part) and the earth (city landscape below), which are penetrated by the vertical cypress trees. Soaring into the sky like tongues of flame, the cypress trees with their outlines resemble a cathedral made in the “flaming Gothic” style.
In many countries, cypress trees are considered cult trees, symbolizing the life of the soul after death, eternity, the frailty of existence and helping the deceased to find shortest path to the sky. Here these trees come to the fore; they are the main characters of the picture. This construction reflects the main meaning of the work: suffering human soul(perhaps the soul of the artist himself) belongs to both heaven and earth.
Interestingly, life in heaven looks more attractive than life on earth. This feeling is created thanks to the bright colors and writing technique unique to Van Gogh: through long, thick strokes and rhythmic alternation of color spots, it creates a feeling of dynamics, rotation, spontaneity, which emphasizes the incomprehensibility and all-encompassing power of the Cosmos.
The sky is given most of the canvas to show its superiority and power over the world of people
The celestial bodies are depicted greatly enlarged, and the spiral-shaped vortices in the sky are stylized as images of the galaxy and the Milky Way.
The effect of twinkling heavenly bodies is created by a combination of cold white And various shades yellow. Yellow color in Christian tradition was associated with divine light, with enlightenment, while white was a symbol of transition to another world.
The painting also abounds in celestial hues, from pale blue to deep blue. Blue in Christianity it is associated with God, symbolizing eternity, meekness and humility before His will. Most of the canvas is given to the sky to show its superiority and power over the human world. All this contrasts with the muted tones of the cityscape, which looks dull in its peace and serenity.
“DON’T LET MADNESS CONSUMBLE YOURSELF”
Andrey Rossokhin, psychoanalyst:
When I first look at the picture, I notice cosmic harmony, a majestic parade of stars. But the more I peer into this abyss, the more clearly I experience a state of horror and anxiety. The vortex in the center of the picture, like a funnel, drags me away, drawing me deep into space.
Van Gogh wrote “Starry Night” in a mental hospital, during moments of clarity of consciousness. Creativity helped him come to his senses and was his salvation. I see this fascination with madness and the fear of it in the picture: at any moment it can engulf the artist, drawing him into himself like a funnel. Or is it a whirlpool? If you look only at top part paintings, it is difficult to understand whether we are looking at the sky or at the roiling sea in which this sky with stars is reflected.
The association with a whirlpool is not accidental: it is both the depths of space and the depths of the sea, in which the artist drowns and loses his identity. Which is essentially what insanity means. The sky and water turn into one. The horizon line disappears, internal and external merge. And this moment of waiting for the loss of oneself is very strongly conveyed by Van Gogh.
The center of the picture is occupied not even by one vortex, but by two: one larger, the other smaller. A head-on collision between unequal rivals, senior and junior. Or maybe brothers? Behind this fight one can see a friendly but competitive relationship with Paul Gauguin, which ended in a deadly clash (Van Gogh at one point rushed at him with a razor, but did not kill him as a result, and later injured himself by cutting off his earlobe).
And indirectly - Vincent’s relationship with his brother Theo, too close on paper (they carried out intensive correspondence), in which, obviously, there was something forbidden. The key to this relationship may be the 11 stars depicted in the painting. They refer to a story from the Old Testament in which Joseph tells his brother: “I had a dream in which the sun, the moon, 11 stars met me, and everyone worshiped me.”
There is everything in the picture except the sun. Who was Van Gogh's sun? Brother, father? We don’t know, but perhaps Van Gogh, who was highly dependent on his younger brother, wanted the opposite from him - submission and worship.
In fact, we see Van Gogh’s three “I”s in the painting. The first is the omnipotent “I”, which wants to dissolve in the Universe, to be, like Joseph, an object of universal worship. Second “I” – small ordinary person, freed from passions and madness. He does not see the riot that is happening in the sky, but sleeps peacefully in a small village, under the protection of the church.
The cypress is perhaps an unconscious symbol of what Van Gogh would have wanted to achieve
But, alas, the world of mere mortals is inaccessible to him. When Van Gogh cut off his earlobe, the townspeople wrote a statement to the mayor of Arles asking him to isolate the artist from other residents. And Van Gogh was sent to a mental hospital. Probably, the artist perceived this exile as punishment for the guilt he felt - for madness, for his destructive intentions, forbidden feelings for his brother and for Gauguin.
And therefore his third, main “I” is an outcast cypress tree, which is distant from the village, taken outside the boundaries of the human world. The branches of the cypress, like tongues of flame, are directed upward. He is the only witness to the spectacle that unfolds in the sky.
This is the image of an artist who does not sleep, who is open to the abyss of passions and creative imagination. He is not protected from them by church and home. But it is rooted in reality, in the earth, thanks to powerful roots.
This cypress tree is perhaps an unconscious symbol of what Van Gogh would like to strive for. To feel a connection with the cosmos, with the abyss that feeds his creativity, but at the same time not lose connection with the earth, with his identity.
In reality, Van Gogh did not have such roots. Enchanted by his madness, he loses his footing and is swallowed up by this whirlpool.
Original painting by Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night. Description, photo, history, year of writing, dimensions, analysis, where it is located.
« Starry night" is an oil on canvas painting by Dutch impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh in 1889. Its size: 92 cm x 73 cm. Today the painting is in the Museum contemporary art, in New York, USA. However, she often “travels” and is regularly exhibited in various museums in Europe.
This painting is one of Van Gogh's most famous and beloved masterpieces. The picture is immediately recognizable; it inspires poets, directors, musicians, designers and artists. Her writing style is absolutely unique.
Vincent van Gogh created The Starry Night in June 1889, when he was hospitalized at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole convent hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he remained for quite some time, for psychiatric treatment. At that time the artist was spontaneous and unpredictable.
In his letters to his brother, Van Gogh wrote: “... I like to do something difficult. But this doesn’t help me not to feel my great need for religion and preaching, so I go out at night to draw stars.”
The artist was cramped within the framework of our world. The painting is an idealized landscape, brighter and more unusual. Powerful celestial whirlwinds, stars and a crescent moon, in the picture, move, in one wave-like motion, over a small town. On the right is an olive grove and hills, on the left is a cypress tree reaching into the sky, looking like a flame. “...we use death to travel to the stars,” the artist wrote. Despite the fact that the painting absorbed the state of hopelessness experienced by the artist at the time of its painting, the composition of the painting was not selected spontaneously, but rather carefully. Trees frame the starry sky and bring balance to the composition.
The eleven stars in the picture are a separate topic of discussion. It is likely that the composition is influenced biblical story Joseph. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down before me” (Genesis 37:9).
Thirteen months after painting The Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh committed suicide.
Despite (and perhaps thanks to) all the interpretations and hidden meanings, the painting remains one of the most important works of art of the 19th century.
Vincent Van Gogh. Starry night. 1889 Museum of Modern Art, New York
Starry night. This is not just one of Van Gogh's most famous paintings. This is one of the most notable paintings in all Western painting. What is so unusual about it?
Why, once you see it, don’t you forget it? What kind of air vortices are depicted in the sky? Why are stars so big? And how did a painting that Van Gogh considered unsuccessful become an “icon” for all expressionists?
I have collected the most interesting facts and the mysteries of this picture. Which reveal the secret of her incredible attractiveness.
1. “Starry Night” was written in a mental hospital
The painting was painted during a difficult period in Van Gogh's life. Six months earlier, living together with Paul Gauguin ended badly. Van Gogh's dream of creating a southern workshop, a union of like-minded artists, did not come true.
Paul Gauguin left. He could no longer stay close to his unstable friend. Every day there are quarrels. And one day Van Gogh cut off his earlobe. And he handed it to a prostitute who preferred Gauguin.
Exactly what they did with a defeated bull at a bullfight. The cut off ear of the animal was given to the winning matador.
Vincent Van Gogh. Self-portrait with a cut off ear and a pipe. January 1889 Zurich Kunsthaus Museum, Private collection Niarchos. Wikipedia.org
Van Gogh could not stand the loneliness and the collapse of his hopes for the workshop. His brother placed him in a shelter for the mentally ill in Saint-Rémy. This is where “Starry Night” was written.
All his mental strength was strained to the limit. That's why the picture turned out to be so expressive. Fascinating. Like a bundle of bright energy.
2. “Starry Night” is an imaginary, not a real landscape
This fact is very important. Because Van Gogh almost always worked from life. This was the issue over which they most often argued with Gauguin. He believed that you need to use your imagination. Van Gogh had a different opinion.
But in Saint-Rémy he had no choice. The sick were not allowed to go outside. It was forbidden to even work in one’s own room. Brother Theo agreed with the hospital authorities that the artist would be given a separate room for his workshop.
So it’s in vain that researchers try to find out the constellation or determine the name of the town. Van Gogh took all this from his imagination.
3. Van Gogh depicted turbulence and the planet Venus
The most mysterious element of the picture. In the cloudless sky we see vortex flows.
Researchers are confident that Van Gogh depicted the phenomenon of turbulence. Which can hardly be seen with the naked eye.
The consciousness, aggravated by mental illness, was like a bare wire. To such an extent that Van Gogh saw what an ordinary mortal could not.
Vincent Van Gogh. Starry night. Fragment. 1889 Museum of Modern Art, New York
400 years earlier, another person realized this phenomenon. A person with a very subtle perception of the world around him. . He created a series of drawings with vortex flows of water and air.
Leonardo da Vinci. Flood. 1517-1518 Royal art collection, London. Studiointernational.com
Another interesting element of the picture is the incredibly large stars. In May 1889, Venus could be observed in the south of France. She inspired the artist to depict bright stars.
You can easily guess which of Van Gogh's stars is Venus.
4. Van Gogh thought Starry Night was a bad painting.
The painting was painted in a manner characteristic of Van Gogh. Thick long strokes. Which are neatly placed next to each other. Juicy blue and yellow colors make it very pleasing to the eye.
However, Van Gogh himself considered his work unsuccessful. When the painting came to the exhibition, he casually commented about it: “Maybe it will show others how to depict night effects better than I did.”
This attitude towards the picture is not surprising. After all, it was not written from life. As we already know, Van Gogh was ready to argue with others until he was blue in the face. Proving how important it is to see what you write.
This is such a paradox. His “unsuccessful” painting became an “icon” for the Expressionists. For whom imagination was much more important outside world.
5. Van Gogh created another painting with a starry night sky
This is not the only Van Gogh painting with night effects. The year before, he wrote “Starry Night over the Rhone.”
Vincent Van Gogh. Starry night over the Rhone. 1888 Musée d'Orsay, Paris
The Starry Night, which is in New York, is fantastic. Space landscape eclipses the earth. We don’t even immediately see the town at the bottom of the picture.
In "Starry Night" the human presence is more obvious. Walking couple on the embankment. Lantern lights on far shore. As you understand, it was written from life.
Perhaps it was not in vain that he urged Van Gogh to use his imagination more boldly. Then would there be many more masterpieces like “Starry Night”?
"The Starry Night" by Vincent van Gogh is one of the most... famous works fine arts. But what is the meaning of this masterpiece of painting?
Most people can tell you that Vincent Van Gogh was famous impressionist, who painted "Starry Night". Many people have heard that Van Gogh was “crazy” and suffered from mental illness throughout his life. The story of Van Gogh cutting off his ear after a fight with his friend French artist Paul Gauguin, is one of the most popular in the history of art. After which he was placed in a psychiatric hospital in the city of Saint-Rémy, where the painting “Starry Night” was painted. Did Van Gogh's health affect the meaning and imagery of the painting?
Religious interpretation
In 1888, Van Gogh wrote a personal letter to his brother Theo: “I still need religion. That’s why I left the house at night and started drawing stars.” As you know, Van Gogh was religious, even serving as a priest in his youth. Many scientists believe that the painting contains religious meaning. Why are there exactly 11 stars in the film “Starry Night”?
“Behold, I saw another dream: behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars worshiped.”[Genesis 37:9]
Perhaps by painting exactly 11 stars, Vincent van Gogh is referring to Genesis 37:9, which tells of the dreamy Joseph who was cast out by his 11 brothers. It is not difficult to understand why Van Gogh could compare himself to Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery and deprived of his freedom, as was Van Gogh, who made Arles his refuge in recent years life. No matter what Joseph did, he could not earn the respect of his 11 older brothers. In the same way, Van Gogh, as an artist, failed to gain the favor of society, the critics of his time.
Van Gogh - cypress?
Cypress, like daffodils, appears in many of Van Gogh's paintings. It would not be surprising if Van Gogh, during the depressive period when The Starry Night was painted, associated himself with the frightening, almost supernatural cypress tree in the foreground of the painting. This cypress is ambiguous, it is opposed to such bright stars in the sky. Perhaps this is Van Gogh himself - strange and repulsive, he reaches out to the stars, to the recognition of society.
Starry Night (Turbulence SPF Darina), 1889, Museum of Modern Art, New York
“Looking at the stars, I always start to dream. I ask myself: why should the bright points on the sky be less accessible to us than the black points on the map of France?” - wrote Van Gogh. “And just as a train takes us to Tarascon or Rouen, so death will take us to one of the stars.” The artist told his dream to the canvas, and now the viewer is surprised and dreams, looking at the stars painted by Van Gogh.
Artists all over the world constantly copy Van Gogh's "Starry Night, Saint-Rémy". This is one of the most recognizable paintings in the world fine arts, and various reproductions of this canvas decorate the interiors of many houses. The circumstances of the creation of "Starry Night", where and how it was painted, as well as the artist's previous unfulfilled dreams, make this work especially significant for Van Gogh's work.
Vincent Van Gogh "Starry Night, Saint-Rémy". 1889
When Van Gogh was a little younger, he planned to become a pastor and missionary, he wanted to help poor people with the word of God. Religious education helped him in some way to create The Starry Night. In 1889, when the night sky with sparkling stars was painted moonlight stars, the artist wasin the French hospital of Saint-Rémy.
Count the stars - there are eleven of them.We can say that the creation of the painting was influenced by the ancient legend about Joseph from the Old Testament. “Behold, I also saw a dream: behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars worship me,” we read in the Book of Genesis.
Van Gogh wrote: “I still have a passionate need for religion. That’s why I left the house at night and began to draw the night sky with stars.”
This famous painting The master demonstrates to the viewer the great power of the artist, as well as his individual and unique style of painting and his special vision of the entire world around him.The Starry Night painting is the most outstanding work of art of the mid-19th century.
There are many reasons why "Starry Night" attracts people so much, and it's not just the saturation of blue and yellow flowers. Many details in the picture and, first of all, the stars are deliberately enlarged. It's like an artist's vision come to life: he surrounds each of the stars with a ball, and we see their rotational movement.
Just as the stars bend on their way down to the hilly horizon, so Van Gogh will be inclined to leave the familiar world, crossing the threshold of the hospital. The windows of the buildings are reminiscent of the houses where he lived as a child, and the spire of the church depicted by Van Gogh in The Starry Night recalls the fact that he once wanted to devote his life to religious activities.
The main “pillars” of the composition are the seemingly huge cypress trees on the hill (foreground), the pulsating crescent moon and stars of a “shining”, bright yellow color. A city lying in a valley may even go unnoticed at first, because the main emphasis is on the greatness of the universe.
The crescent moon and the stars move in a single wave-like rhythm. The trees depicted in this picture significantly balance the overall composition.
The vortex in the sky reminds us of the Milky Way, galaxies, and cosmic harmony, expressed in the simultaneously ecstatic and blissfully calm movement of all bodies in dark blue space. In the picture there are eleven incredibly huge stars and a large but waning month, reminiscent of biblical story about Christ and the 12 apostles.
In vain, geographers try to determine what kind of settlement is depicted at the bottom of the canvas, and astronomers try to find the constellations in the picture. The image of the night sky was copied from my own consciousness. If usually the night sky is serene and cold and indifferent, then in Van Gogh it is swirling with whirlwinds, full of secret life.
Thus, the artist hints that the imagination is omnipotent to create more amazing nature than the one we see in the real world.
"Starry Night"
When Night falls on the Earth like darkness -
Love lights up the stars in the sky...
Maybe someone doesn't notice them,
Oh, someone is watching them through a telescope -
There he searches for life, studies science...
And someone just looks - and Dreams!
Sometimes a dream can be fabulous,
But still, he continues to believe...
His star is alive, it shines,
All his questions are answered...
There, among thousands of stars, there is Vincent's Star!
It never fades away!
She burns throughout the entire Universe -
She lights up the planets!
So that in the midst of the dark Night it suddenly becomes brighter -
So that the light of the Star shines like the Sun in the Soul of people!
Vincent's sister