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VINCENT VAN GOGH - THE STARRY NIGHT
Van Gogh, Public
domain, via
Wikimedia Commons.
The Starry Night, June 1889 |
- The Starry Night is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh.
- Painted in June 1889, it depicts the view from the
east-facing window of his asylum room at
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise, with the addition
of an imaginary village.
- It has been in the permanent
collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City since
1941, acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest.
- Described as a
'touchstone of modern art,' the painting has been regarded as one of the most recognizable paintings in the Western canon.
- However, it was painted during the day and the large bright
circle next to the tree stump on the left represents Venus.
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The painting's celestial elements include Venus, which was visible in the sky at the time, and the Moon, although the Moon's depiction is not astronomically accurate. The cypress trees in the foreground were exaggerated in scale compared to other works. Van Gogh's letters suggest he viewed them primarily in aesthetic rather than symbolic terms. The village in the painting is an imaginary addition, based on sketches rather than the actual landscape seen from the asylum. (Wikipedia)
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