The Starry Night

Starry Night (Dutch De sterr night ) is one of the most famous paintings by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. He painted the 73.7 × 92.1 cm Picture June 1889 in the French Saint- Remy- de -Provence in the style of Post-Impressionism and early expressionism using oil paints on canvas. The image is since 1941 owned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and is being presented under the title The Starry Night.

Genesis

Little is known about the reasons that led the painter to this picture. In a letter to his brother Theo (No. 595 ) the starry night is mentioned directly; van Gogh laments the one hand, how dissatisfied he was with the Image of exaggeration shows on the other hand conciliatory in the face of Blue in the image. Since he was the creation time of the image in the mental hospital of Saint -Paul -de- Mausole and the building was allowed to leave only accompanied the picture was probably painted from memory in the studio and not in nature. Considered partially as a preparation drawing Starry Night (formerly Kunsthalle Bremen) has only emerged after the painting in the period between 25 June and 2 July 1889. In contrast to the painting only ten stars are shown in the drawings and from the farmhouses smoke rising into the sky. On July 2, Vincent van Gogh sent this drawing together with other works to his brother Theo van Gogh ( art dealer ) to Paris.

Topics

The perspective of the image viewer corresponds to the view from the window of the sickroom of the sanatorium in St. Rémy. Motifs of the painting are cypress trees and a village. While the cypress trees and the color of the night sky rather reflect the landscape of southern France, recalls the village of Van Gogh's Dutch home. The design of the starry sky appeared repeatedly in his works from this period, as in created in Arles in September 1888 paintings Café Terrace at Night (French Terrasse du café le soir ) and Starry Night over the Rhone (French Nuit étoilée sur le Rhône).

Interpretation

The Starry Night was created in a tragic van Gogh for life when he suffered greatly in his mental constitution, which has brought him to St. Remy. Accordingly, the image can be seen as impetuous attempt of the artist to overcome his illness, to be interpreted. Emotional turmoil reflected although in some aspects resisting, yet radiate the image of a certain tranquility, hope and comfort from. This inconsistency may be detected in different planes. So the silence of the village with the turmoil of the sky, the dark colors of the cypress in the foreground contrasts with the bright yellow of the crescent moon and the stars, the dominant blue single scatterings in orange are opposite. The bright colors are complemented by a white, which is responsible on one hand for the characteristic spiral trail effect and harmonize the composition.

The art historian Meyer Schapiro saw the work as " one of the rare photos that have been triggered by a religious sentiment. " Van Gogh have tried to express his longing for something infinite in nature. Furthermore Schapiro saw it traces an apocalyptic imagination. This interpretation corresponds with a letter to his brother, in which the artist expressed his intention to paint "difficult scenes from the life ", "This does not stop me from getting an unbridled desire for - shall I say the word? - To have for religion. Then I go out at night to paint the stars. "

Effect

The image looks emotional in his subject, the colors and wild brush strokes and has inspired many artists to own variations on the theme. For example, the poems were written over the picture and the English title of the picture, The Starry Night, was the inspiration for the first line of the successful pop songs Vincent, the American singer Don McLean dedicated to the painter. Scientists deal with specific details, such as the calculation of the brightness variations in the clouds and light vortices, such as the analysis of digital photographs revealed correspond to the physical laws of the model of Kolmogorov.

Provenance

Shortly after the creation of the painting gave Vincent van Gogh The Starry Night, his brother Theo. A year after the death of the painter died in 1891 and Theo van Gogh, which his wife Johanna van Gogh - Bonger inherited the image. She sold it in 1900 to the living in Paris Julien Leclercq, who passed it in February 1901 exchange for another painting to the painter Émile Schuffenecker. After Johanna van Gogh - Bonger had repurchased the image Schuffenecker, the painting in 1906 came across the gallery Oldenzeel in Rotterdam in the possession of the collector Georgette P. van Stolk from Rotterdam, who kept it until 1938. Through the mediation of Jacob Baart de la Faille, author of Van Gogh's work directory, got the picture in the New York branch of the art dealer Paul Rosenberg. 1941 acquired the ' Museum of Modern Art ' the painting Lillie P. Bliss with funds from the Bequest.