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The Starry Night
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
, 2
Van Gogh painted The Starry Night amid his twelve months stay at the Saint-Rémy while
seeking therapy in a mental asylum in 1889. Van Gogh's behaviour was erratic at that time he
was given a studio, and his painting was constrained to subjects that enclosed him such as his
likeness, views outside his studio window, and the encompassing countryside that he could visit
with a chaperone. Rendered in Van Gough's characteristic, Post-Impressionist method, The
Starry Night contains curving, swirling lines of hills, mountains and sky. The superbly diverging
blues and yellows, the enormous flame-like cypress trees, and the thickly layered brush-strokes
of the piece are embedded in people's minds as an expression of Van Gogh's disorderly state of
mind. Apart from his private room, which had a breathtaking mountain view of the Alpilles, he
was given a painting studio. Because the room's location gave an idea of the asylum garden, it is
resumed that Van Gogh composed the piece utilizing elements of some previously done works
and also features from imagination and memory.
One striking element in this piece is the overwhelming night sky which occupies most of
the background. The spinning, flowing lines seem to be whispering across the scene in this calm,
wavy motion and happen to be merging at the middle to develop this spiral-like pattern. Eleven
intense yellow stars that resemble enormous fireballs brighten this entire piece and compare with
the cool blue, fluid night sky that assumes a remarkable variety of grey and blue shades. Also,
there is the crescent moon at the top-right hand corner that emanates a more orange, sunnier light
from the remaining stars. This massive cypress bush partly blocks the night sky view and village
in the foreground. Also, the cypress has writing quality to it, and its black, green colouring is
prominent. The houses are small and unnoticeably painted at the painting's bottom right corner
and mixed well with the forest and mountains. The village architecture is antiquated and simple,
and no light brightens the village, bestowing the impression that everybody there is maybe
The Starry Night
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
, 2
Van Gogh painted The Starry Night amid his twelve months stay at the Saint-Rémy while
seeking therapy in a mental asylum in 1889. Van Gogh's behaviour was erratic at that time he
was given a studio, and his painting was constrained to subjects that enclosed him such as his
likeness, views outside his studio window, and the encompassing countryside that he could visit
with a chaperone. Rendered in Van Gough's characteristic, Post-Impressionist method, The
Starry Night contains curving, swirling lines of hills, mountains and sky. The superbly diverging
blues and yellows, the enormous flame-like cypress trees, and the thickly layered brush-strokes
of the piece are embedded in people's minds as an expression of Van Gogh's disorderly state of
mind. Apart from his private room, which had a breathtaking mountain view of the Alpilles, he
was given a painting studio. Because the room's location gave an idea of the asylum garden, it is
resumed that Van Gogh composed the piece utilizing elements of some previously done works
and also features from imagination and memory.
One striking element in this piece is the overwhelming night sky which occupies most of
the background. The spinning, flowing lines seem to be whispering across the scene in this calm,
wavy motion and happen to be merging at the middle to develop this spiral-like pattern. Eleven
intense yellow stars that resemble enormous fireballs brighten this entire piece and compare with
the cool blue, fluid night sky that assumes a remarkable variety of grey and blue shades. Also,
there is the crescent moon at the top-right hand corner that emanates a more orange, sunnier light
from the remaining stars. This massive cypress bush partly blocks the night sky view and village
in the foreground. Also, the cypress has writing quality to it, and its black, green colouring is
prominent. The houses are small and unnoticeably painted at the painting's bottom right corner
and mixed well with the forest and mountains. The village architecture is antiquated and simple,
and no light brightens the village, bestowing the impression that everybody there is maybe
