Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night

Starry Night is one of the globally diagnosed pieces of art. Today, the artwork can be seen in items such as crates, cups, towels rates, at some point, it is argued that, the fame commanded by the portray exceeds the creator Van Gogh. With its charming color palette, seductive swirls and mind-altering composition, Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh stays one of the globally beloved as well as established pieces of art. Vincent van Gogh was Dutch citizen who lived between the years 1853 and 1890. He was renowned by his paintings. He had a special way of portraying his paintings, hence making him stand out during his time. His work was notable for the various ways, such as rough beauty, usage of bold color, emotional honesty and also a far reaching influence during the 20th century. He was interested in drawing since he was a child, however, only a handful people recognized and appreciated his work. Over the time he has been an artist, he has produced over 2100 artworks using both oil and water based paints. His drawing consisted of his own portraits, landscapes, portraits and paintings of various objects such as sunflower among others (Charles 13). This essay provides contextual information as well as analysis of Starry Night by Van Gogh

Ten Important Facts about Vincent Van Gogh’s Life with Discussion

Born on 30th March 1853 in Groot-Zundert southwest region of the Netherlands, Van Gogh was well recognized in the field of arts and paintings. He painted the starry night (which remains one of the great pieces of art) in 1899. This was during the time he was staying in the asylum. At Saint-Paul-de-Mausole hospital, he lived well to an extent he was accorded ample freedom compared to any other patient in the hospital (Charles 22). Despite his immense contribution to the world of art, Van Gogh’s never lived long enough to taste his legacy. He was aged 37 when he died, as his life was marred by madness. Van Gogh’s masterpieces came while he was in mental hospital.

Despite his prowess and mastery of his artwork, his paintings didn’t come until he was 27 years old. Van Gogh was thrown out of his family home after a chain of failed career attempts. He had a hand in art dealer, bookstore clerk, pastor (like his father), and a teacher where none of these careers kicked off. After the frustrations, he turned to drawing, and after a year via his brother’s help, acquired painting materials. Theo his brother happens to be his financial supporter for the decade he engaged in painting (Charles 20).

According to Charles (18), Van Gogh only sold one painting of his work. This is the Red Vineyard. His famous and interest in his work came after he died. In terms of his personal life, Van Gogh’s loved and lived with a prostitute Layman (105); he didn’t have a successful marriage life. After moving away from home, he largely commiserated with prostitutes. The prominent artist liked to paint portraits of himself, having painted an estimated more than 30 pieces of his own portrait. He was the winner of post-impressionistic ‘selfies’. In a span of three years, Van Gogh produced self-portraits. This can be attributed to the fact; he was poor and could hardly to pay professional models (Layman 105).

Despite his painting career commencing at 27 years of age, the short period he lived about 10 years he managed an estimated 900 paintings. This was an incredible achievement given his limited financial powers as well as his health condition. Van Gogh suffered from temporal epilepsy which was defined by unprovoked seizures. At one point, he suffered a seizure; he attacked his Paul, but ended up cutting off a piece of his ear.

Contextual Information and Provenance of the Painting and the Present Location in Detail

The Starry night is the most prominence piece of a painting by Van Gogh. It was oil on canvas painting that was done in the year 1889, the month of June. According to Mary (2011), the painting has been held in the collection of Museum of modern art which is New York. The painting was first painted in southern France, from the window of his asylum. In the work, Van Gogh’s use his expertise to portray his view from his asylum house. The Starry night was what he was viewing from the east-facing window moments before sunrise. He also uses an idealized village. The painting entails a night sky swirling lines of hills, the sky and the mountains, the perfectly utilized contrasting yellows and blues, flame like trees and the blue strokes that were thickly layered was taken as the expression of van Gogh’s state of mind.

Discussion on Van Gogh Work Using At Least 10 Observations and Paintings Terms of Art

On great extent, Van Gogh’s career in painting was self-taught, as he resorted to utilize oil paints as well as water colors to bring out the best in his paintings. One of the aspects that Van Gogh loved to paint is the subject of landscape. More so, his early composition entailed portraits of peasants from Dutch as well as rural landscapes defined in dark and moody tones. When he moved to Paris, he was inspired by the works of Seurat George, who was regarded as Pointillist and an impressionist of his time (Halford 82). Borrowing from George work that entailed short brush strokes, harmonious colors and liberal utilization of painter, Van Gogh adopted the style and carried it on in his later works. After the Paris visit, he brightened his palette, as well as loosening his brush work. This made him adopt the name post-impressionist. Through his symbolic images, he produced emotionally and visually arresting paintings ("Vincent Can't Sleep, 2017).

Initial Reaction and Then Your Opinion of the Painting

With reference to Starry Night by Van Gogh, what masterly piece of work by a person who could be described to have had an imperfect life. This painting represents a natural talent by Van Gogh, bearing in mind that he had hardly gone to school for his skills. With the exposure and limitation of his time as well as level of development, at first, his work wasn’t that much recognized, but after his death, there is much reference to his work. This is after people realize how much talent it would take to present such as mastery. Despite the massive development in terms of technology today, the work of Van Gogh, more so the Starry Night painting can hardly be disregarded as just a mare painting. Drawing from his life, his achievement in this painting can be seen as a piece of encouragement to the mentally challenged, that they can develop a career from their talents.

In conclusion, despite his short life, Van Gogh’s talent in art and painting has left a tremendous impact in the field of his painting. With the starry night being his most stands out work, his massive contributions have been appreciated after his death. However, his life was marred with difficulties such a failed career, difficult marriage and relationship not forgetting his troubled state of health. First painted in France, Starry night painting by Van Gogh remains a masterpiece of painting today. Despite a troubled life by Gogh, his achievements are well beyond his name. His achievements in painting and drawing gave him the name. Long after his death, his contributions are being seen and appreciated by many in the society.

Works cited

"Vincent Can't Sleep: Van Gogh Paints the Night Sky." Kirkus Reviews, vol. 85, no. 16, 15 Aug. 2017, p. 1. EBSCOhost, search.

Charles, Victoria. Vincent Van Gogh. New York: Parkstone International, 2011. Internet resource. 13-28.

Halford, Bethany. "Vincent Van Gogh Inspires Artwork Rendered with Science." Chemical & Engineering News, vol. 94, no. 9, 29 Feb. 2016, pp. 82-83. EBSCOhost, search.

Layman, Lewis M. "Echoes of Walt Whitman's 'Bare-Bosom'd Night' in Vincent Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'." American Notes & Queries, vol. 22, no. 7/8, Mar/Apr84, p. 105. EBSCOhost, search.

Mary, O'neill. "Vincent Van Gogh Shone." Investors Business Daily, 27 Sept. 2011, p. A03. EBSCOhost, search.