This is my analytical essay.

The Impressionism art movement started during the 1860s when several artists held independent art exhibits to expose their rebellious art. The Realism (1850s) movement had opened artists eyes to creating realistic images and depictions of everyday situations (Bishop and Desnoyers 48-50). The Impressionist movement wanted to move away from the traditionalist way of how art was done during those times. However, they painted snapshots of real life using different techniques using blotches of paint on the canvas instead of layering and blending . Post Impressionists (1880s-1900s) responded by going with the approach that utilized a more abstract form of art for anything they saw giving it their own twist (Rubin 1126-1133). With the Post-Impressionist era responding back in the tail end of the 19th century comes revolutionary Dutch painters like Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) who primarily used abstraction and in his artworks (Dixon 1-4). Van Gogh’s Starry Night oil painting gives a unique way to using color to create abstract forms instead of the traditional naturalistic lighting and color Impressionists artists painted.

Van Gogh avoids using blotches of paints and trying to closely replicate a still frame from what he is observing, he instead uses longer aggressive brush strokes that communicate movement. The whirling of the clouds is unrealistic but reflective of his emotions making the painting more relatable as to how one might feel. The segmented line layers on top and next to each other giving a warped image that sucks the viewers in. The lines also give a rough and thick fur texture creating a circular pattern. Highlights around the moon and stars are done in a circular pattern getting lighter along the edges give a sense of depth. The hills in the foreground are painted from the right to left side on an angle with a dark solid outline that really smoothes them out. The little village is made with symbolic structures and given solid colors with a lack of texture except for the roofs that have lines layering on each other to give perspective. The crops are given a simple circular strokes that blend in with the circular pattern exhibiting a smooth texture. The cypress trees towers down upon the village gives it a pronounced presence. Lines and texture really give Starry Night a unique look that gives the image more life than a still frame image would painted.

The painting is mainly dominated by different pigments of blues but consists of black, yellow, brown, green, and white paint that gives a unnatural but unique color palette full of expression. The dark cobalt blue layered with a lighter ultramarine blue in certain parts of the sky give it life and representative of lighting in a night sky. White is mixed in and whirled with different shades of blue that make the cloud blend in but still stand out with its light color and warped shape. The moon consist of a little bit of orange mixed with cadmium yellow to mute the brightness but still saturated enough to be a focal point in the painting. The highlights around the moon and stars indicate importance as Gogh uses white and a little yellow to create a green glow all through the sky. The same type of colors are used for the hills in the background to be more obscure and contrast the dark blue hills in the foreground. The little village is mixed in with different colors to create gray and brown houses which some have yellow as light is inside conveying life inside the houses. The emerald green gives the is all over the bottom of the canvas to represent fields of crops. Burnt umber, a dark brown color was used to paint the cypress trees bringing an ominous and odd vibe when looking at where its located. Van Gogh’s color palette is vibrant yet dark and uses color to convey emotion that really dominates the painting.

The composition of the painting is very simple and effective in communicating emotions as well as movement. The spiraling clouds that cover the canvas in the center really balances the whole painting because of its strong foundation and placement. Movement is also balanced with the clouds being blown with the wind and the quiet little town standing still. The cypress trees fiercely whip at the tall knight sky as if they were flames complements the smoothness and roundness of the calm hills. The upper dark part of the sky is illuminated by the highlights of the moon and stars giving a sense of light and direction. The vertical cypress trees correlate with the horizontal frame of the town. The painting is contrasting yet uniting with its simple forms and shapes to understand. Van Gogh’s composition has a very cohesive and strong structure with the abstract concepts made with the movements that interact with the color all over the canvas.

Starry Night makes one reflect with the emotional blue palette all over the canvas and the peaceful feeling yet somewhat aggressive image felt looking at this painting. The painting reflects the last years of the Van Gogh’s life. Van Gogh was born in Zundert, a village set in the rural southern part of Holland. He has a deep appreciation for nature and seventeenth century art. He was also into the humanitarian messages of Jesus so he became an assistant preacher; however, he failed to study theology and could not bring evangelists to meet him. He decided to pursue the arts becoming a self taught artist in drawing and painting making rural settings his main theme. (Stolwijk 2339-2400) He was heavily influenced by impressionists but then started to take more spontaneous after he moved to Arles from Paris in France. At fifteen months during his stay there, he had a mental breakdown and cut off his left ear. He admitted himself to an asylum at Saint-Rémy. His paintings became even more aggressive and drew nature in a chaotic manner reflecting what has been happening in his life. One of these paintings happened to be Starry Night using the view from a window facing to the east in his room. He committed suicide later in 1890 by gunshot wound in abdomen (“Vincent Van Gogh” 428-429). These experiences shaped his art into the Post-Impressionist style that prioritized emotions rather replicating natural landscapes through traditional methods.

Every component has a deep meaning that is reflective of Van Gogh’s state of mind at the time of painting Starry Night. The swirling clouds are representative of the life changing events happening to him through his hardships with depression and not being appreciated for hundreds of pieces he’s created. The dominant blue color puts one in a calm mood that creates a peaceful setting for one to reflect as they stare into the sky. It’s unique look can be relatable to how one feels and can be interpreted as a connection to nature. The stars and moon’s bright shine can be seen as a guide through the difficulties of life or even as a sign of hope. The huge cypress trees are representative of death that gives the painting a gloomy but emotional setting. The contact the trees make with the sky is indicative of the living world and the heavens close together. The smooth dark blue hills and mountains are symbols of peace and give off seren vibes that connect with the village to establish the peaceful mood in contrast to the wisps in the sky. It represents the quietness of the night and the lights found made by fires emphasizes the serenity of the village.

The patterns and shapes created by Van Gogh really communicate abstract concepts that makes Post-Impressionist art much more relatable to people now. Impressionist artists don’t capture the beauty of emotion as well as Starry Night does with its cohesive structure and deeply symbolic content gives it more substance. The forms are not natural but are representative of it leaving it open to interpretation and allows the artists to put their emotions with it to create a unique abstract image. Van Gogh’s Starry Night deserves its famous recognition as one of the best paintings because of its abstract quality and interesting concepts.