THE STARRY NIGHT: A DESCRIPTION

         

Everyone knows the harrowing circumstances this oil on canvas masterpiece was created under. To ponder over history a bit, lets go back to 1888 when Vincent Van Gogh being the subject of some say, an anxiety attack, cut off his ear. In 1889 having accepted the fact that he was not "normal", he voluntarily admitted himself to an asylum where this amongst other of his greatest works among which my favorites are Irises, Almond Blossoms, Wheatfield With Cypresses and his last piece of artwork Wheatfield With Crows were created. 

One can clearly see the details and efforts that went into this, implying his fondness towards nighttime projects. Glimmering stars dotting the powerful, intense blue night sky towering above a quaint and quiet little town. The main source of light is the white star in the bottom left, brighter than the other stars which was later identified to be the planet Venus and the golden crescent moon sitting majestically above all giving a feeling of coziness and intimacy. Blowing winds are painted with swirl strokes incorporating the whites of the wind into the Prussian, midnight blue of the night. Mountains are there but more blended in the background and surprisingly minute, giving the image that he wanted his sky to remain the more potent, valiant protagonist in the story he’s telling through colours. Yet someone like me can not help but notice only notice the tall cypress trees on the left next to Venus, a sign of death and extreme misery in European culture, the painting style identical to A Starry Night Over Rhone, an artwork created long before he “went insane” based on the view from his apartment, depicting his longing to be there in the familiarity and warmth of his own home. As Vincent once wrote to his brother, this was the view of his room in the asylum at night from the iron barred windows.

Van Gogh's last self portrait

It seems that Van Gogh is perhaps comparing life to death with on one side, sparkling stars full of energy and light, the kind that make one stare in envy and dance in glee, painted in contrast to a serene and gloomy village with tall cypress trees, where everyone is asleep, unaware of the beauty surrounding them. Or perhaps he is creating an image of his desire to be free once again and be able to walk alongside the horizon and the sky’s many stars.