Starry Night ( 1889) Let’s analyse one of the most amazing paintings by Vincent van Gogh

A different look at the Vincent Van Gogh Painting The Starry Night in  this article (contains a video).

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The Starry Night | Vincent Van Gogh

The artist painted The Starry night during his internment at Saint Paul de Mausole, a psychiatric hospital in Saint Rémy, France.

This work is one of the most recognized paintings in the history of Western culture.

The new knowledge of the Universe

In 1889 the first photographs of the night sky were published.

The rendering of Venus in this painting matches these published photographs.

The starry night is based on Van Gogh’s observations as well as his imagination, memories and emotions.

During his time at Saint Paul de Mausole, Van Gogh developed his very particular style, where strong primary colors prevailed.

Analysing Art |  Van Gogh | Starry Night

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) was one of the Netherlands’ most known painters.

Integrating the Post Impressionist artistic movement he created new approaches to painting.

Vincent lived haunted by psychologic problems most of his life. Some art historians defend that he suffered of bipolar disorder.

Van Gogh painted more than 2000 works in two decades.

The saturated colors and strong brushstrokes are a reflection of his interior tumult.

We must not forget to look the artist in his time. Time of innovation, progress, and new advances on science.

The new discoveries in the field of optics, for example, had a great influence on Van Gogh s works.

Japanese art discovered by European artists

Portrait of Père Tanguy, 1887

Between 1860 and 1870, there is an immense influx of art objects from Japan, creating a natural fascination with Japanese art and culture.

Vincent van Gogh was one of the artists who was fascinated by this new aesthetic.

Japonism manifests itself in Western Art mainly through the simplification of colors and perspective.

However, one could not say that it was a copy of the Japanese artistic process, but rather an encounter between both cultures and artistic expressions.

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