Religion In The Starry Night

When discussing post-impressionist artists one popular name is Vincent van Gogh. Though he is recognized today for his many vibrant works, he was virtually unknown until shortly after his death. Growing up poor, van Gogh went to work extremely early at his uncle’s Art dealership. There he was able to develop a passion for art. Over the course of the next seven years, he suffered from a traumatic love life that ultimately lead to him dedicating his life to the church. His religious outreach career was short lived before he returned to his lifelong passion of art (1880). Van Gogh continued traveling and creating art well into the late 1880’s where he found himself south of France (1888). This is ultimately where he lost his mind. On May 8th,

The life span of 37 years saw Vincent Willem van Gogh (Vincent) in creating beautiful works he dearly loved. Painting was an avenue, which allowed him to express his inner thoughts or vent his struggles. My decision to research on Vincent’s painting, Starry Night (1889) came with the inspiration from Don Mclean’s Song, Starry Starry Night where his lyrics spoke about Vincent’s life that further intrigued me in writing this paper.

In my research / readings of my chosen Artist, I found a lot of information about them that I will descibe individually. Based on the biography, It has been stated that Vincent “was a most well known post-impressionism Artist, for whom color was the chief symbol of expression, he was highly emotional, lacked self-confidence and struggled with his identity and with direction.” (Templeton Reid) In the late 1800’s is when Vincent basically made the decision to become an Artist, in which he wanted to provide some type of Happiness because he was able to create beauty (Templeton Reid). As you review the art chosen above by Vincent Van Gogh, you will notice the colors used were dark i.e. Greens, Oranges, Blues, with splashes of yellow to create the sun, which led me to believe that maybe this was when he was in the dark place of his life. In the Van Gogh painting, I see big trees with the nice bright sun shining over the blue water, while looking at the trees it makes me feel safe because of the openness of the surrounding space, also the brightness of the sun and the coolness of the water makes me calm and relaxed, it’s just something about being in nature that gives me a sense of peace and direction, nothing to distract or disturb me.

Vincent van Gogh was Dutch post-impressionistic painter who ended up own life by own hand. His paintings are notable for its power of touch in painting, colour and emotion. By picking up some words from his life that influenced his mind and painting style, were “religion”, “Paul Gauguin” and “Japonism”. (Brooks, 2016) (Vangoghmuseum.nl, n.d.). Also those words are related to the turning points of his life as well.

Most people have no idea that Van Gogh was a Christian. Before pursuing a career as an artist he desired to be a minister. In fact, he was very focused on pursuing ministry. He spent time ministering to coal miners. The

When I first saw Vincent van Gogh’s painting of The Starry Night, I was immediately drawn to the peaceful luminescent stars emanating outward like vibrant yellow halos into the captivating striking blue sky. I felt a sense of calm and tranquility as the bright orange moon shone intently over the serene village below. The sprawling mountain range, grassy hills and fields of wheat intensified this feeling as a soft wind swept through the countryside. Under the immense stars and vibrant night sky, the people of the village sleep soundly in their cottages. This painting exudes an overwhelming feeling of calmness and peace in my mind.

To begin with, everyone knows Vincent Van Gogh. He is one the most famous artists in the world. In Van Gogh's “Starry Night” it has been said that the painting depicts his view from an asylum. After receiving a mental

One of the most mysterious and thought-provoking images to date was painted in 1889 from a mental health institution in St. Remy, France by non-other than Vincent Van Gogh. The opulence of blues and yellows has the ability bring a viewer to its knees, mostly in a subconscious manner that evokes a kind of spiritual quest, perhaps one that Van Gogh was on himself. The Starry Night is still heavily contemplated and its meaning is still relatively unknown and quite debated, as is the man himself. In an effort to gain an understanding of not only the painting but the painter himself, I chose two articles that provide an understanding of the art and the artist: Van Gogh’s Agony by Lauren Soth and Under the Starry Night by Denis J. Billy. Both writers take a different approach to grasping the elusive understanding of this wondrous work but occasionally find some similarities and understanding of him and his work, which I will elaborate on through the course of this paper.

A great artist once wrote, “If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced”. This artist was Vincent van Gogh, soon to be an appraised artist known all around the world for his works, such as Starry Night. He is one of the very first artists of the post-impressionist style than is now adored in every continent. However, there is much more to the man than one painting. Creating a full timeline that stretches beyond Gogh’s life, this paper will discuss the life of Vincent van Gogh and the impression he made on the world.

     With its swirling colors and lines, The Starry Night, incorporates not just the color and light that is found in the earlier works of these painters, but it shows how forms and feelings also came into play. One of van Gogh’s main beliefs was that art was a direct representation of how the artist feels. Having grown up in a very religious family, van Gogh viewed the heavens as a beautiful, living thing. His heavy brushstrokes and vivid colors portray the night sky as crazy and chaotic and the village below as peaceful and serene. Van Gogh’s troubled life, which involved many failures in life, love and business, forced him into madness, which eventually caused him to commit suicide. While the problems of his life may have caused personal trauma, the artistic importance of his insanity is overwhelming. Perhaps if he had not gone crazy, he never would have created the masterpieces that have had such an impact on art and history.

One of Vincent Van Gogh’s most world renowned paintings is his landscape oil painting Starry Night. The painting displays a small town underneath an unusual yet still extremely beautiful night sky. In this night sky, Van Gogh utilizes an array of colors that blend well together in order to enhance the sky as a whole. The town is clearly a small one due to the amount of buildings that are present in the painting itself. In this small town most of the buildings have lights on which symbolize life in a community. Another visual in Starry Night is the mountain like figures that appear in the background of the illustrious painting. Several things contribute to the beauty of Van Gogh’s painting which are the painting’s function, context, style, and design. Van Gogh’s utilization of these elements help bring further emphasis to his work in Starry Night.

“Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul,” said William Maugham, a British playwright from the 19th century. Vincent Van Gogh, an artist who is considered by many one of the most inspirational artists in history, was no stranger to depicting his struggles in life or feelings in his work. Van Gogh’s piece Starry Night, designed in the year 1889, shows this to be true in that it was the result of his experiences in an asylum that encouraged this piece. Despite this work has being so well known, many critics and observers of the piece have differing views on what he was trying to communicate through it. Two prime examples of this can be seen by the views expressed in the poems entitled, “Vincent” and “The Starry Night”, written by Don McClean and Anne Sexton, respectively. While the poem “Vincent”, has a depressing tone to it, “The Starry Night”, by Anne Sexton, depicts Starry Night as having a more lively mood, which more accurately represents that of the painting, by Vincent Van Gogh.

Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most famous artists of all time. He is known for his paintings and is hailed as the quintessential expressionist painter in history. Yet, Van Gogh lived one of the most troubling lives one could ever imagine. Almost every painting can be viewed as a look into his troubled soul. Van Gogh’s Paintings today can be sold for millions of dollars, but during his life time he sold a single painting for a measly 40 francs. Van Gogh’s legacy has left behind stories of greatness and sadness having to do with both his personal life and his career as an artist.

The reason why Vincent van Gogh created the portray called “The Starry Night” was because he began to suffer hallucination and have thoughts of suicide as he plunged into depression. Just before sunrise, he was inspired by the east-facing window view of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence which he later uses his imagination to create the artwork. The Starry Night masterpiece was based on van Gogh’s direct observations as well as his imagination, memories, and emotions of the sunset at the asylum. He also wrote a letter to his brother Theo van Gogh about him seeing an amazing view which was stated: “This morning I saw the country from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big”. This part of the letter was evidence that he created “The Starry Night” because he was inspired by the view and use his imagination to paint the picture with oil painting.

Vincent Van Gogh had a rather depressing life. After being born into an upper-middle class family he quickly became depressed in life. He tried different things like working as an art dealer, becoming a Protestant missionary, and so on. None of these stuck for him as his mental health continued to decline. He was already a quiet, keep to himself kind of person, but over time he became more isolated. He got help from his younger brother Theo in the form of money and moved back home with his parents. This is when he began painting and eventually moved to Paris. Once moving there his paintings became more colorful and his painting style began to develop. He also began suffering from delusions and psychotic episodes and began neglecting his health by eating less and drinking alcohol more frequently and in