Maria Revyakina, art critic:
The picture is divided into two horizontal planes: the sky (upper part) and the earth (urban landscape below), which are pierced by a vertical of cypresses. Soaring into the sky, like tongues of flame, cypress trees with their outlines resemble a cathedral, made in the style of "flaming Gothic".
In many countries, cypresses are considered cult trees, they symbolize the life of the soul after death, eternity, the frailty of life and help the departed find the shortest path to heaven. Here these trees come to the fore, they are the main characters of the picture. Such a construction reflects the main meaning of the work: the suffering human soul (perhaps the soul of the artist himself) belongs to both heaven and earth.
Interestingly, life in the sky looks more attractive than life on earth. This feeling is created thanks to the bright colors and the unique technique of painting for Van Gogh: through long, thick strokes and rhythmic alternation of color spots, he creates a feeling of dynamics, rotation, spontaneity, which emphasizes the incomprehensibility and all-encompassing power of the Cosmos.
The sky is given most of the canvas to show its superiority and power over the world of people
The celestial bodies are shown greatly enlarged, and the spiraling vortices in the sky are stylized as images of the galaxy and the Milky Way.
The effect of flickering heavenly bodies is created by a combination of cold white color and various shades of yellow. Yellow in the Christian tradition, it was associated with divine light, with enlightenment, while white was a symbol of transition to another world.
The painting is also replete with celestial hues, ranging from pale blue to deep blue. Blue color in Christianity it is associated with God, symbolizes eternity, meekness and humility before His will. The sky is given most of the canvas to show its superiority and power over the world of people. All this contrasts with the muted tones of the cityscape, which looks dull in its peace and serenity.
"DO NOT LET THE MADNESS CONSUME YOURSELF"
Andrey Rossokhin, psychoanalyst:
At the first glance at the picture, I notice the cosmic harmony, the majestic parade of stars. But the more I peer into this abyss, the more clearly I experience a state of horror and anxiety. The vortex in the center of the picture, like a funnel, drags me, pulls me deep into space.
Van Gogh wrote "Starry Night" in a hospital for the mentally ill, in moments of clarity of consciousness. Creativity helped him come to his senses, it was his salvation. This is the charm of madness and the fear of it I see in the picture: at any moment it can absorb the artist, lure him in like a funnel. Or is it a whirlpool? If you look only at the top of the picture, it is difficult to understand whether we are looking at the sky or at the rippling sea in which this sky with stars is reflected.
The association with a whirlpool is not accidental: it is both the depths of space and the depths of the sea, in which the artist is drowning - losing his identity. Which, in essence, is the meaning of insanity. Sky and water become one. The horizon line disappears, inner and outer merge. And this moment of expectation of losing oneself is very strongly conveyed by Van Gogh.
The center of the picture is occupied by not even one whirlwind, but two: one is larger, the other is smaller. Head-on collision of unequal rivals, senior and junior. Or maybe brothers? Behind this duel one can see a friendly but competitive relationship with Paul Gauguin, which ended in a deadly collision (Van Gogh at one point rushed at him with a razor, but did not kill him as a result, and later injured himself by cutting off his earlobe).
And indirectly - Vincent's relationship with his brother Theo, too close on paper (they were in intensive correspondence), in which, obviously, there was something forbidden. The key to this relationship can be 11 stars depicted in the picture. They refer to a story from the Old Testament in which Joseph tells his brother: "I had a dream in which the sun, the moon, 11 stars met me, and everyone worshiped me."
The picture has everything but the sun. Who was Van Gogh's sun? Brother, father? We do not know, but perhaps Van Gogh, who was very dependent on his younger brother, wanted the opposite from him - submission and worship.
In fact, we see in the picture the three "I" of Van Gogh. The first is the almighty "I", which wants to dissolve in the Universe, to be, like Joseph, the object of universal worship. The second "I" is a small ordinary person, freed from passions and madness. He does not see the violence that is happening in heaven, but sleeps peacefully in a small village, under the protection of the church.
Cypress is perhaps an unconscious symbol of what Van Gogh would like to strive for
But, alas, the world of mere mortals is inaccessible to him. When Van Gogh cut off his earlobe, the townspeople wrote a statement to the mayor of Arles with a request to isolate the artist from the rest of the inhabitants. And Van Gogh was sent to a hospital for the mentally ill. Probably, the artist perceived this exile as a punishment for the guilt he felt - for madness, for his destructive intentions, forbidden feelings for his brother and for Gauguin.
And therefore, his third, main "I" is an outcast cypress, which is distant from the village, taken out of the human world. Cypress branches, like flames, are directed upwards. He is the only witness to the spectacle unfolding in the sky.
This is the image of an artist who does not sleep, who is open to the abyss of passions and creative imagination. He is not protected from them by church and home. But he is rooted in reality, in the earth, thanks to powerful roots.
This cypress, perhaps, is an unconscious symbol of what Van Gogh would like to strive for. Feel the connection with the cosmos, with the abyss that feeds his creativity, but at the same time not lose touch with the earth, with his identity.
In reality, Van Gogh had no such roots. Enchanted by his madness, he loses his footing and is swallowed up by this whirlpool.
Did you know that Van Gogh's famous painting "Starry Night" was painted by him in a psychiatric hospital? Why was he there, and why did the artist cut off his earlobe?
Starry Night is one of the most famous paintings Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. It is one of the most striking and visible paintings of all Western painting. This picture was painted in 1889. They say that once you see Starry Night, you will never forget it.
5 secrets of the Starry Night painting:
The picture was painted in a hospital.
Van Gogh's famous painting "Starry Night" was painted in a psychiatric hospital. There was a difficult period in the life of the Dutch artist, when all his dreams collapsed. Van Gogh dreamed of creating his own workshop, but he did not succeed. The last straw was a quarrel with a friend Paul Gauguin. After that, Van Gogh cut off his earlobe. The reference of such an act to the bullfight, on which the ear of the defeated bull was cut off. The Dutch artist admitted his defeat, after which, his brother was attached to a psychiatric hospital.
The painting is a product of the imagination.
The Dutch post-impressionist painter has always worked from nature. Van Gogh believed that people should not use their imagination. Instead, you have to accept reality. But the reality in the hospital was too cruel: you can’t go out, you can’t work, you can’t draw. The painting "Starry Night" - displays what Van Gogh wanted to see, and not what he actually saw. "Starry Night" is an escape from a difficult reality to the stars.
Created my own reality.
Van Gogh's mental illness was so great that the artist saw what others did not see. The painting "Starry Night" is a true confirmation of this. In his painting, Van Gogh depicted the planet Venus and turbulence. Logically, none of this can be seen with the naked eye.
Van Gogh considered this painting to be a failure.
Van Gogh considered the painting "Starry Night" unsuccessful. “Maybe she will show others how to depict night effects better than I did,” the artist said about his painting at exhibitions. No wonder, because Van Gogh always believed that it was important to paint from nature. However, this painting became important for the expressionists.
Wrote a letter to my brother.
When Van Gogh completed the painting, he wrote to his brother: “Why can't the bright stars in the sky be more important than the black dots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to Tarascon or Rouen, so we die to reach the stars.” A year later, the Dutch artist shot himself in the chest. Reached the stars...
“I confess, I don’t know why, but looking at the stars I always want to dream”
Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh. 1889. Oil on canvas. 73.7x92.1
There is no artist in the world who would not be attracted by the starry sky. The author has repeatedly turned to this romantic and mysterious object.
The master was cramped within the real world. He considered that it was his fantasy, the play of the imagination, that was necessary for a more complete image. It is known that by the time the picture was created, the author was undergoing another course of treatment, he was allowed to work only if his condition improved. The artist was deprived of the opportunity to create in nature. Many works during this period (including "Starry Night") he created from memory.
Powerful, expressive strokes, thick colors, complex composition - everything in this picture is designed for perception from a great distance.
Surprisingly, the author managed to separate the sky from the Earth. One gets the impression that the active movement in the sky does not affect what is happening on the ground. Below is a sleepy town, ready to fall into a peaceful sleep. Above - powerful streams, huge stars and incessant movement.
The light in the work comes from the stars and the moon, but its direction is indirect. The highlights illuminating the city at night look random, breaking away from the general mighty whirlwind that reigns over the world.
Between heaven and earth, connecting them, grows a cypress, eternal, undying. The tree is important for the author, it is the only one capable of transmitting all the heavenly energy to those living on earth. The cypress trees strive for the sky, their aspiration is so strong that it seems - another second and the trees will part with the earth for the sake of the sky. Like tongues of green flame, the centuries-old branches look up.
The combination of rich blue and yellow colors, a well-known heraldic combination, creates a special atmosphere, fascinates and attracts attention to the work.
The artist repeatedly turned to the night sky. In the well-known work "The Sky over the Rhone" the master still does not approach the depiction of the firmament in such a radical and expressive way.
The symbolic meaning of the picture is interpreted by many in different ways. Some tend to see the painting as a direct quote from the Old Testament or Revelation. Someone considers the excessive expressiveness of the picture the result of the master's illness. Everyone agrees on one thing - the master, towards the end of his life, only increases the internal tension of his works. The world is distorted in the perception of the artist, it ceases to be the same, it reveals new forms, lines and new emotions, stronger and more precise. The master draws the viewer's attention to those fantasies that make the world around us more vivid and non-standard.
Today, this work has become one of Van Gogh's most recognizable works. The painting is in an American museum, but the painting gets to Europe regularly, exhibited in the largest museums of the Old World.
Original painting by Vincent van Gogh Starry Night. Description, photo, history, year of writing, dimensions, analysis, where it is located.
Starry Night is an 1889 oil on canvas painting by the Dutch Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. Its size: 92 cm x 73 cm. To date, the painting is in the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, USA. However, she often "travels" and is regularly exhibited in various museums in Europe.
This painting is one of Van Gogh's most famous and beloved masterpieces. The picture is immediately recognizable, it inspires poets, directors, musicians, designers and artists. Her writing style is absolutely unique.
Vincent van Gogh created "Starry Night" in June 1889 when he was admitted to the hospital at the monastery of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, where he stayed long enough for psychiatric treatment. At that time the artist was spontaneous and unpredictable.
In his letters to his brother, Van Gogh wrote: “... I like to do something difficult. But even this does not help me not to feel my great need for religion and preaching, so I go out at night to paint the stars.
The artist was cramped within the framework of our world. The picture is an idealized landscape, more vivid and non-standard. Powerful celestial whirlwinds, stars and a crescent-shaped moon, in the picture, move, in one undulating motion, over a small town. On the right is an olive grove and hills, on the left is a cypress, striving into the sky, like a flame. “... we use death to travel to the stars,” the artist wrote. Despite the fact that the picture absorbed the state of hopelessness experienced by the artist at the time of its writing, the composition of the picture was not selected spontaneously, but rather carefully. Trees frame the starry sky and bring balance to the composition.
Eleven stars in the picture - separate topic discussions. It is likely that the biblical story of Joseph influences the composition. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down before me” (Genesis 37:9).
Thirteen months after painting Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh committed suicide.
Despite (or perhaps because of) all interpretations and hidden meanings, the painting remains one of the most important works of art of the 19th century.
"I still passionately need - I will allow myself this word - in religion. Therefore, I left the house at night and began to draw stars," Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo.
It is worth going to New York at least for the sake of meeting her, with Van Gogh's Starry Night.
Here I want to give the text of my work on the analysis of this picture. Initially, I wanted to rework the text so that it is more in line with the article for the blog, but due to failures in the Word and lack of time, I will post it in its original form, which was hardly restored after the program crashed. I hope even the original text will be at least somewhat interesting.
Vincent Van Gogh(1853-1890) - a prominent representative of post-impressionism. Despite the difficult life path and the rather late formation of Van Gogh as an artist, he was distinguished by perseverance and diligence, which helped him achieve great success in mastering the technique of drawing and painting. In the ten years of his life devoted to art, Van Gogh went from an experienced viewer (he began his career as an art dealer, so he was familiar with many works) to a master of drawing and painting. This short period became the most vivid and emotional in the life of the artist.
The personality of Van Gogh is shrouded in mystery in the representation of modern culture. Although Van Gogh left a great epistolary legacy (an extensive correspondence with his brother Theo van Gogh), descriptions of his life were compiled much later than his death and often contained fictional stories and distorted attitudes towards the artist. In this regard, there was an image of Van Gogh as a crazy artist who cut off his ear in a fit, and later shot himself completely. This image attracts the viewer with the secret creativity of the crazy artist, balancing on the verge of genius and madness and mystery. But if we examine the facts of Van Gogh's biography, his detailed correspondence, then many myths, including those about his madness, are debunked.
Van Gogh's work became available to the general public only after his death. At first, his work was attributed to different areas, but later they were included in post-impressionism. Van Gogh's handwriting is unlike anything else, so even with other representatives of post-impressionism it cannot be compared. This is a special way of applying a brushstroke, using different brushstroke techniques in one work, a certain color, expression, compositional features, means of expression. It is this characteristic style of Van Gogh that we will analyze using the example of the painting "Starry Night" in this work.
Formal stylistic analysis
The Starry Night is one of Van Gogh's most famous works. The painting was painted in June 1889 in Saint-Remy, since 1941 it has been kept at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The picture is painted in oil on canvas, dimensions - 73x92 cm, the format is a horizontally elongated rectangle, this is an easel painting. Due to the peculiarity of the technique, the picture should be viewed at a sufficient distance.
Looking at the picture, we see a night landscape. Most of the canvas is occupied by the sky - the stars, the moon, large depicted on the right, and the night sky in motion. On the right in the foreground, trees rise, and on the left below is a town or village hidden in the trees. The background is dark hills on the horizon line, gradually becoming higher from left to right. The picture, based on the described plot, undoubtedly belongs to the landscape genre. We can say that the artist brings to the fore the expressiveness and some conventionality of the depicted, since the main role in the work is played by expressive distortion (color, in the technique of strokes, etc.).
The composition of the picture as a whole is balanced - on the right, dark trees below, and on the left, a bright yellow moon above. Because of this, the composition tends to be diagonal, including because of the hills increasing from right to left. In it, the sky prevails over the earth, as it occupies most of the canvas, that is, the upper part prevails over the lower. At the same time, there is also a spiral structure in the composition, which gives the initial impetus to the movement, expressed in a spiraling stream in the sky in the center of the composition. This spiral sets in motion both part of the trees, and the stars, and the rest of the sky, the moon, and even the lower part of the composition - the village, trees, hills. Thus, the composition from the statics familiar to the landscape genre turns into a dynamic, fantastic plot that captures the viewer. Therefore, in the work it is impossible to single out the background and clear planning. The traditional background, the background, ceases to be a background, as it is included in the overall dynamics of the picture, and the foreground, if we take the trees and the village, being included in the movement in a spiral, ceases to stand out. The planness of the picture is vague and unsteady due to the combination of spiral and diagonal dynamics. Based on the compositional solution, it can be assumed that the artist's angle of view is directed from bottom to top, since most of the canvas is occupied by the sky.
Undoubtedly, in the process of perceiving a picture, the viewer is involved in interaction with the image. This is obvious from the described compositional solution and techniques, that is, the dynamics of the composition and its direction. And also thanks to the color scheme of the picture - the color scheme, bright accents, the palette, the technique of applying strokes.
Deep space is created in the picture. This is achieved due to the color solution, composition and movement of strokes, the difference in the size of strokes. Including due to the difference in the size of the depicted - large trees, a small village and trees near it, smaller hills on the horizon, a large moon and stars. The color solution builds depth due to the dark foreground of the trees, the muted colors of the village and the trees around it, the bright color accents of the stars and the moon, the dark hills on the horizon, set off by the light strip of the sky.
The picture does not meet the criterion in many ways linearity, and most expresses just picturesqueness. Since all forms are expressed through color and strokes. Although in the image of the lower plan - the town, trees and hills, the distinction is made by separate contour dark lines. It can be said that the artist deliberately combines some linear aspects in order to emphasize the difference between the upper and lower planes of the picture. Therefore, the upper plan, the most important compositionally, in terms of meaning and in terms of color and technical solutions, is the most expressive and picturesque. This part of the picture is literally sculpted with color and strokes, it lacks contour or any linear elements.
Concerning flatness and depths, then the picture gravitates towards depth. This is expressed in the color scheme - contrasts, darker or smoky shades, in technology - due to the different direction of strokes, their sizes, in composition and dynamics. At the same time, the volume of objects is not clearly expressed, as it is hidden by large strokes. Volumes are only outlined by separate contour strokes or are created by color combinations of strokes.
The role of light in the picture is not significant in comparison with the role of color. But we can say that the light sources in the picture are the stars and the moon. This can be traced by the lightness of the settlement and the trees in the valley and the darker part of the valley on the left, by the dark trees in the foreground and the hills darkening on the horizon, especially located on the right under the moon.
The silhouettes of the depicted are closely related to each other. They are inexpressive due to the fact that they are written in large strokes, for the same reason the silhouettes are not valuable in themselves. They cannot be taken separately from the entire canvas. Therefore, we can talk about the desire for integrity within the picture, achieved by technology. In this regard, we can talk about the generalization of what is depicted on the canvas. There is no detail due to the scale of the depicted (far located, therefore, small towns, trees, hills) and the technical solution of the picture - drawing with large strokes, dividing the depicted into separate colors with such strokes. Therefore, it cannot be said that the picture conveys a variety of textures of the depicted. But generalized, rough and exaggerated due to the technical solution of the painting, a hint at the difference in shapes, textures, volumes is given by the direction of the strokes, their size and the actual color.
Color in "Starry Night" plays a major role. The composition, dynamics, volumes, silhouettes, depth, light obey the color. The color in the picture is not an expression of volume, but a semantic element. Thus, due to the color expression, the radiance of the stars and the moon is exaggerated. And this color expression creates not just an emphasis on them, but gives them significance within the picture, creates their semantic content. The color in the picture is not so much optically accurate as it is expressive. With the help of color combinations, an artistic image, expressiveness of the canvas is created. The picture is dominated by pure colors, the combinations of which create shades, volumes and contrasts that affect perception. The borders of color spots are distinguishable and expressive, since each stroke creates a color spot, distinguishable in contrast with neighboring strokes. Van Gogh focuses on smears-spots, crushing the volumes of the depicted. So he achieves greater expression of color and form and achieves dynamics in the picture.
Van Gogh creates certain colors and their shades by combining color spots-strokes that complement each other. The darkest parts of the canvas are not reduced to black, but only to a combination of dark shades of different colors, creating in perception a very dark shade close to black. The same happens with the brightest places - there is no pure white, but a combination of strokes of white with shades of other colors, in combination with which white ceases to be the most important in perception. Highlights and reflections are not pronounced brightly, as they are smoothed out by color compounds.
We can say that in the picture there are rhythmic repetitions of color combinations. The presence of such combinations both in the image of the valley and the settlement, and in the sky creates the integrity of the perception of the picture. Various combinations of shades of blue among themselves and with other colors throughout the canvas show that it is the main color that develops in the picture. An interesting contrasting combination of blue with shades of yellow. The texture of the surface is not smooth, but embossed due to the volume of strokes, in some places even with gaps on a blank canvas. The strokes are well distinguishable, significant for the expression of the picture, its dynamics. Strokes are long, sometimes larger or smaller. Applied in different ways, but rather thick paint.
Returning to binary oppositions, it must be said that the picture is characterized openness of form. Since the landscape is not fixated on itself, on the contrary, it is open, it can be expanded beyond the borders of the canvas, which is why the integrity of the picture is not violated. The picture is inherent atectonic beginning. Because all the elements of the picture strive for unity, they cannot be taken out of the context of the composition or canvas, they do not have their own integrity. All parts of the picture are subject to a single plan and mood and do not have autonomy. This is expressed technically in composition, in dynamics, in color patterns, in the technical solution of strokes. Picture presents incomplete (relative) clarity depicted. Since only parts of the depicted objects are visible (houses of the tree settlement), many of them overlap each other (trees, field houses), scales are changed to achieve semantic accents (the stars and the moon are hypertrophied).
Iconographic and iconological analysis
Actually the plot of "Starry Night" or the type of landscape depicted is difficult to compare with the paintings of other artists, all the more to put in a number of similar works. Landscapes depicting night effects were not used by the Impressionists, since lighting effects at different times of daylight hours and work in the open air were just important for them. Post-Impressionists, if they turned to landscapes not from nature (like Gauguin, who often paints from memory), they still chose daylight hours and used new ways of depicting lighting effects and individual techniques. Therefore, the image of night landscapes can be called a feature of Van Gogh's work (“Night cafe terrace”, “Starry night”, “Starry night over the Rhone”, “Church in Auvers”, “Road with cypresses and stars”).
Characteristic in the night landscapes of Van Gogh can be called the use of color contrasts to emphasize important elements of the picture. The most commonly used contrast shades of blue and yellow. Night landscapes were mostly painted by Van Gogh from memory. In this regard, they paid more attention not to the reproduction of the real light effects seen or of interest to the artist, but emphasized the expressiveness and unusualness of light and color effects. Therefore, the lighting and color effects are exaggerated, which gives them an additional semantic load in the paintings.
If we turn to the iconological method, then in the study of the "Starry Night" one can trace additional meanings in the number of stars on the canvas. Some researchers associate the eleven stars in Van Gogh's painting with the Old Testament story of Joseph and his eleven brothers. “Listen, I had a dream again,” he said. “In it were the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, and they all bowed down to me.” Genesis 37:9. Given Van Gogh's knowledge of religion, his study of the Bible and his attempts to become priests, the inclusion of this story as an additional meaning is justified. Although it is difficult to consider this reference to the Bible as determining the semantic content of the picture, because the stars make up only part of the canvas, and the depicted town, hills and trees are not connected with the biblical story.
biographical method
Considering the "Starry Night", it is difficult to do without a biographical method of research. Van Gogh wrote it in 1889, when he was in the Saint-Remy hospital. There, at the request of Theo van Gogh, Vincent was allowed to paint and draw in oils during periods of improvement in his condition. Periods of improvement were accompanied by a creative upsurge. Van Gogh devoted all the available time to work in the open air and wrote quite a lot.
It is noteworthy that "Starry Night" was written from memory, which is unusual for the process of Van Gogh's creativity. This circumstance can also emphasize the special expressiveness, dynamics and coloring of the picture. On the other hand, these features of the picture can also be explained by the mental state of the artist during his stay in the hospital. The circle of his communication and the possibilities of action were limited, and attacks occurred with varying degrees intensity. And only during periods of improvement did he have the opportunity to do what he loved. During that period, painting became a particularly important way of self-realization for Van Gogh. Therefore, the canvases become brighter, more expressive and dynamic. The artist puts a lot of emotion into them, as this is the only possible way to express it.
It is interesting that Van Gogh, who describes in detail his life, reflections and his work in letters to his brother, mentions the "Starry Night" only in passing. And although by that time Vincent had already moved away from the church and church dogmas, he wrote to his brother: “I still passionately need, - I will allow myself this word, - religion. Therefore, I went out of the house at night and began to draw stars.
Comparing "Starry Night" with earlier works, we can say that it is among the most expressive, emotional and exciting. Tracing the change in the manner of writing throughout his work, there is a noticeable increase in expressiveness, color load, and dynamics in Van Gogh's works. "Starry Night over the Rhone", written in 1888 - a year before the "Starry Night", is not yet filled with that culmination of emotions, expressiveness, color richness and technical solutions. You can also notice that the paintings following the "Starry Night" became more expressive, dynamic, emotionally heavy, more vivid in color. Most bright examples- "Church in Auvers", "Wheat field with crows". This is how you can designate "Starry Night" as the last and most expressive, dynamic, emotional and colorful period of Van Gogh's work.
