HISTORY OF WESTERN ART

History of Western Art

History of Western Art

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh has gone above the artistic achievements. Although Van Gogh sold only one painting in his life, the result of his work is vast. Starry Night is one of the most well known figures in modern culture as well as being one of the most virtual and wanted prints. From Don McLean's song 'Starry, Starry Night' (Yaeger, 1996), to the endless number of goods products showing this picture, it is almost impossible to shy away from this astonishing painting.

The features will be described below:

1. There is the night sky filled with spinning clouds, stars alight with their own glow, and a bright moon. Although the features are overstated, this is a scene we can all relate to, and also one that most people feel comfortable with. This movement keeps the witness involved in the painting while the other factors take hold.

2. Below the rolling hills of the horizon lies a small town. There is an inactive spirit coming from it. Maybe the cool dark colors and the scorching windows flash memories of our own warm childhood years brimming with imagination of what exist in the night and dark starry skies. The center point of the town is the tall steeple of the church, swaying largely over the smaller buildings. This tower casts down a sense of stability onto the town, and also generates a sense of dimension and seclusion.

3. To the left of the painting there is a huge dark structure that keeps an even larger sense of size and separation. This structure is wonderful when judged against to the scale of additional objects in the painting. The curving lines mirror that of the sky and make the sensation of deepness in the painting. This formation also allows the watcher to understand what it is. From a mountain to a leafy bush, the study of this formation is wide and full of variety.

Van Gogh painted Starry Night while in an Asylum at Saint-Remy in 1889 (Yaeger, 1996).

Whether or not this religious idea is true, it is known that the piece is not the only Starry Sky painting that Van Gogh ever created. Like Starry Sky this previous piece shares lots of the qualities that have made Starry Sky such a popular painting. For instance ...