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With swirling brushstrokes, Van Gogh created a revolutionary oil painting of the night sky.
Vincent van Gogh, “The Starry Night,” 1889 (Photo: Public domain viaWikimedia Commons)This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please readour disclosurefor more info.
Pops of vibrant yellow stars pierce through the deep blue sky, which is shown blanketing a village.
Pictorial Analysis ofStarry Night
Detail of sky.
It’s this treatment that helps to explainwhy it became so famous.
Detail of sky. (Photo: Public domain viaWikimedia Commons)
The sky ofThe Starry Nightis the most dream-like element of the composition.
Even so, the painting is often seen as having great emotional depth.
Art historians commonly attribute this to his depressive state.
Detail of village. (Photo: (Photo: Public domain viaWikimedia Commons)
Hope is in the stars, the artist wrote to his brother.
For this reason,The Starry Nightpainting is often interpreted as having a hopeful message.
What Caused Van Gogh to Enter the Asylum?
Van Gogh’s room at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole (Photo:Original uploader (WT-fr) Saint Rémy de Provence Tourisme at French Wikivoyage,CC BY-SA 3.0)
This occurred just a few months after he left the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole mental asylum in Saint-Remy-de-Provence.
This is the asylum that he voluntarily checked himself into in May 1889 and where he paintedThe Starry Night.
How did Van Gogh end up in the asylum?
Vincent van Gogh “Starry Night Over the Rhone,” 1888 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
To understand, we must turn back the clock to 1888.
At the time, Van Gogh was living in Arles and had invitedPaul Gauguinto say with him.
Gauguin arrived on October 23 and the two pushed each other creatively.
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However, Gauguin would later say that their relationship was quite complicated.
After two months of living together in The Yellow House, things came to a head.
While at the hospital, he was diagnosed with acute mania with generalized delirium.
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Theo came to visit him at the hospital, but Gauguin stayed away.
Though he was permitted to sketch in his room, he was only allowed to paint in his studio.
While committed, he completed an unprecedented amount of artwork.
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Van Gogh paintedStarry Night Over the Rhonein 1888just one year before he completedThe Starry Night.
During this time, he was living in Arles, an idyllic French commune.
BothStarry Night Over theRhoneandThe Starry Nightfeature similar subject matter and are rendered in Van Gogh’s signature style.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who paintedThe Starry Night?
The Starry Nightwas painted by Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh.
When wasThe Starry Nightpainted?
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Van Gogh paintedThe Starry Nightin 1889.
Where isThe Starry Nightlocated?
Since 1941,The Starry Nighthas been located at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
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How much isThe Starry Nightworth?
This priceless masterpiece is valued at over $109 million.
Books AboutThe Starry Night
Want to expand your knowledge about Vincent van Gogh andThe Starry Night?
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Check out some of these books.
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The Starry Nightcontinues to resurface in new ways in the modern world.
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