i think it was when he found god and he was inspired when he looked out side and saw how large and beautiful the night was
then that made him realize that god was huge himself
so the dark of the painting represents strength
he was trying to express his love for the lord References :
Vince was stoned on an opium style drug and in a mental hospital when he painted it. It is interesting how he made an attempt to paint at night which very few good paintings have come from nighttime scenes, but his Starry Night is one that is thought to be one of his best.
I don’t suggest you try it but I’ve seen the stars and streetlights kind of look like that but I was very very stoned back in the day. I don’t suggest you try doing that because of all the other not so nice baggage that comes with using drugs of that type for that purpose.
Vincent really used his time on this earth to show us his life seemed in paint if you ask me. His nighttime painting was his manner of showing us God’s good world at night, a world he wanted to show us I think because of his desire to share it with all. Afterall he began by being a religious preacher in the coal mines and I think his desire to ‘tell others of God’s beauty" came thru in this painting as many of his paintings. "But that’s just me" as some people have said. References : Reading "Van Gogh’s Letters" to his brother, and "Lust for Life" Having seen many of his paintings in various shows and museums over the years
The picture was an attempt by VG to create a masterpiece. He had painted stars before (night cafe in Arles), but this time he wanted to paint a picture from imagination (previously he painted mostly scenes or people that he actually saw.) He wrote about his aim for this painting "we may succeed in creating a more exciting and comforting nature than we can discern with a single glimpse of reality." His plan, as he wrote to Theo his brother was to paint " a starry night with cypresses or possibly above a ripe field of wheat"
I should also mention that at the time he painted this VG was incarcerated in the asylum at San Remy – so perhaps for him the night scene and open landscape represented a certain freedom and release.
Although he spoke of "greater consolation" he mantained that this canvas was no longer related to his Christian beliefs. He wanted the feeling of comfort – of solace – to be evoked by the color and design of representations of nature. So Starry Night is not meant to be an expression of his religious feelings which were not nearly as strong as they had been in his youth.
He wanted to paint the time of the day when "you see green beetles and cicadas fly up in the heat". He chose a graphic style – i.e. one in which lines rather than patches of color and silhouetted forms are featured.
One interesting point, the stars have yellow halos. It is thought today, that VG was suffering from lead poisoning from nibbling chips of paint and/or thujone poisoning due to drinking too much absinthe. In either case, the sufferer sees objects in yellow; and/or lights in circles like halos.
VG was trying to convey the beauty of the night, the whirling clouds and hills over a little town. He or his brother were not particularly pleased with this painting, and would – I think – be amazed to learn that it has become – due to unusual style and religious overtones – one of the most famous in the world. References : All quotes from Van Gogh’s letters to his brother are taken from van Gogh Retrospective Catalogue, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1990 pp. 214-215 \
February 20th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
I have always heard that it’s when he found God.
References :
February 20th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Check:
http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=79802
You might also want to look at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkvLq0TYiwI
and
http://www.lyricscrawler.com/song/34248.html
References :
February 20th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
i think it was when he found god and he was inspired when he looked out side and saw how large and beautiful the night was
then that made him realize that god was huge himself
so the dark of the painting represents strength
he was trying to express his love for the lord
References :
February 20th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Vince was stoned on an opium style drug and in a mental hospital when he painted it. It is interesting how he made an attempt to paint at night which very few good paintings have come from nighttime scenes, but his Starry Night is one that is thought to be one of his best.
I don’t suggest you try it but I’ve seen the stars and streetlights kind of look like that but I was very very stoned back in the day. I don’t suggest you try doing that because of all the other not so nice baggage that comes with using drugs of that type for that purpose.
Vincent really used his time on this earth to show us his life seemed in paint if you ask me. His nighttime painting was his manner of showing us God’s good world at night, a world he wanted to show us I think because of his desire to share it with all. Afterall he began by being a religious preacher in the coal mines and I think his desire to ‘tell others of God’s beauty" came thru in this painting as many of his paintings. "But that’s just me" as some people have said.
References :
Reading "Van Gogh’s Letters" to his brother, and "Lust for Life" Having seen many of his paintings in various shows and museums over the years
February 20th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
The picture was an attempt by VG to create a masterpiece. He had painted stars before (night cafe in Arles), but this time he wanted to paint a picture from imagination (previously he painted mostly scenes or people that he actually saw.) He wrote about his aim for this painting "we may succeed in creating a more exciting and comforting nature than we can discern with a single glimpse of reality." His plan, as he wrote to Theo his brother was to paint " a starry night with cypresses or possibly above a ripe field of wheat"
I should also mention that at the time he painted this VG was incarcerated in the asylum at San Remy – so perhaps for him the night scene and open landscape represented a certain freedom and release.
Although he spoke of "greater consolation" he mantained that this canvas was no longer related to his Christian beliefs. He wanted the feeling of comfort – of solace – to be evoked by the color and design of representations of nature. So Starry Night is not meant to be an expression of his religious feelings which were not nearly as strong as they had been in his youth.
He wanted to paint the time of the day when "you see green beetles and cicadas fly up in the heat". He chose a graphic style – i.e. one in which lines rather than patches of color and silhouetted forms are featured.
One interesting point, the stars have yellow halos. It is thought today, that VG was suffering from lead poisoning from nibbling chips of paint and/or thujone poisoning due to drinking too much absinthe. In either case, the sufferer sees objects in yellow; and/or lights in circles like halos.
VG was trying to convey the beauty of the night, the whirling clouds and hills over a little town. He or his brother were not particularly pleased with this painting, and would – I think – be amazed to learn that it has become – due to unusual style and religious overtones – one of the most famous in the world.
References :
All quotes from Van Gogh’s letters to his brother are taken from van Gogh Retrospective Catalogue, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1990 pp. 214-215 \
February 20th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
what’s important is how it makes you feel.
References :