Analysis of Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night Essay Sample

I chose one of my favorite artist’s most famous piece of work. Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night wasn’t going to be my first choice truthfully as I found it was probably cliché to do an art paper on this piece. As I explored the Museum of Modern Arts virtual taller I discovered that they had a new way of viewing this piece of work and that was a 3D model that had been scanned onto the website. Seeing as that is pretty freaking cool I felt I needed to do my paper on this artwork.

Van Gogh created a work of art that shows the exciting and ever moving mechanism that is a night sky, despite how peaceful they seem at first glance. I’ll begin my description with the bottom of the painting though, on the right is a small village with a chapel. Van Gogh used darker blue themed colors to fill his painting with, he would add touches of yellow and Orange that offer a small touch of warmth and comfort. Despite the dark night sky that blankets over the village, it still remains lit through the windows and from the stars and moon in the sky. The left side of the painting appears to have a tower of dark green flames reaching towards the sky. In actuality this is a Cyprus tree, typically used as a symbol of mourning. It reaches into the sky holding the viewers gaze of the foreground. 

Now to describe the main theme of the painting. The sky is filled with blue colors and swirling patterns that represent the night sky filled with moving clouds. The line work helps guide the viewers gaze along the painting ensure it that every part of it is gifted it’s own admiration. Stars fill the sky yellow with hues of white and yellow radiating out of them. They take the cold and dark tone of the painting and add warmth and light to it. A crescent moon takes the place of the top left corner, yellow with radiating light filling the sky drawing your attention to it. Perhaps one of my favorite details that I notice most in the moon is Van Gogh’s use of depth. Instead of evenly spreading his paint across his canvas so that it remains flat, he allows the globs of paint to add a field of depth to his painting. These globs are used to draw attention to the lights and swirling patterns in the sky. This is the very reason I chose this painting with the 3D model offered online. This is a detail normally you would only be able to get in person but because of this new feature we are able to live the full experience of this masterpiece.

Van Gogh was a troubled man, this is something very well documented in his history. I’m sure there’s a million and one psychological evaluations of this painting and a million and one more artistic evaluations. I’m going state what I feel personally is being portrayed and messaged here. I believe that the use of the Cyprus tree, which as stated before is the symbol of mourning, was no coincidence. I’m addition with the color palette used, I believe Van Gogh was trying to portray that life is hard and full of darkness and depression. He shows that in the most silent of nights when all you have is your thoughts that it can feel that the whole world is nothing but, cold darkness. I believe that the inclusion of the stars, moon, and window lights are all intentional placements of the warmer colors. I think he’s showing that the beauty in life and the good is found in our relationships with others, being why he included the lights in the village. I also believe that the stars and moon are symbolizing that as long as you look up, there will always be a light in the dark. All you need to do is keep your head up and look for the good in life and it’ll seem a lot less dark. 

I believe personally that the use of color is ingenious in this painting. Everything from the placement of the Cyprus tree to the village under the stars is intentional. The line work and the patterns used are designed specifically to keep the viewers attention moving across the painting so that they can truly take in all that is included in the painting. The symbolism of the Cyprus tree and the cooler dark colors helps to bring forth the meaning of this painting. While the usage of the warmer colors scattered about is in its own right a masterful use of symbolism. I decided to go with this piece of art because the Museum of Modern Art offered a digital 3D model which allows you to fully appreciate the whole painting and all the elements the artist used to portray his message.