Vincent Van Gogh was an incredible painter that had a profound impact on the evolution of art. He will remain a staple in western art due to his amazing legacy of paintings that he left behind. One of his most well-known paintings is Starry Night. It is a gorgeous painting that’s main focus is a beautiful sky that has deep tones whirling together with beautiful contours of shining starts and a large moon in the corner. It has a quant village in middle ground that provides some perspective, as well as a large looming Cyprus tree in the foreground. He painted Starry Night in his later life while he was staying at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum where he was ordered to go by the people in his town, Arles, France, because they felt he was a threat. This stemmed from his behavior due to his overwhelming mental distress and depression. The main aspect of Starry Night is the symbol of life and death that Van Gogh perceived in his unstable mental position. This can be seen through the contrasting organization of the scene he painted, as well as the techniques he used to create his painting.  

The scene that Van Gogh painted has a lot to do with the meaning of the painting. One of the best qualities is the contrasting organization of the night sky versus the village. The dynamic sky and serene village draw so much attraction to the piece. Where most find the sky to be the source of the dark abyss of night, and a village to have more life in comparison, Van Gogh challenges this and has the night sky exploding with energy and light, and the village lie dark and quiet. This is interesting because usually the sky is connected with heaven and death. This clear contrast of the dark village, actually containing life, and the bright sky, which is more visually lifelike, is supposed to show the connection of life and death. In a letter to his brother, Theo, Van Gogh said “Why, I say to myself, should the spots of light in the firmament be less accessible to us than the black spots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to go to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to go to a star” (Persse). This shows how he viewed the night sky as a symbol of death. An additional major portion of the painting is the large and dark Cyprus tree that implodes up from the foreground into the night sky, connecting the two together. This tree is such a distinct part of the theme of life and death in this painting because Cyprus trees are usually found in graveyards and are associated with mourning. The fact that it erupts from the ground into the sky shows the joining of life on earth and the death that the night sky symbolizes. This is supposed to ground the idea of life and death, allowing for it to be brought to reality by providing a distinguishable sense of truth. 

Starry Night was created on a two and a half foot by three-foot canvas, and oil paint was the medium used. One of the best aspects of this painting comes from the technique that he used with the oil paint, creating large brush strokes that allowed for very dynamic attributes. These large swirly strokes were usual of his impressionistic style paintings, however it provided an iconic beauty that is unmistakable to the piece. The movement that is embodied by these powerful brushstrokes shows strong Van Gogh’s emotions were during his time at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole (The Biography.com Website Editors). The bold brush strokes emblemize his tourment that he was experiencing, but, at the same time, the soft swirly style of the painting shows that he wasn’t completely in such a dark space. This comfortable fluidity of these brushstrokes in the sky create an interesting twist because the sky is a symbol of death. Another interesting aspect of this painting that lends to its unique quality in his collection is that he painted this from memory and not completely from a literal scene in front of him. It is said that he painted this based off of the view out of his window at the asylum as well as incorporating elements from his original home in the Groot-Zundert, Netherlands like the church steeple in the village (The Biography.com Website Editors). By painting from memory it allowed him to divulge into a more creative aspect of his painting techniques that have been noted for impacting the birth of the post-impressionism movement. The fact that he worked from his mind and not his direct surroundings shows how he was at a more unstable point in his life and needed an outlet to express these feelings.  One of the most special techniques that he used was the range of colors, and contrast that he used with them. There are cool tones found throughout the painting, but also warm oranges and reds can be seen in the details of the village. What gives the painting so much life are the whites and yellows mixed with some soft greens and blues swirled through out the sky. The real beauty and interest comes from the contrast of this color scheme. It’s clearly a cool toned painting, but with enchanting pops of yellow and whites emulating the stars in the sky. This is such an important part of the painting and it adds so much meaning to it. This addition of light as stars that beam through the hollows of the night sky show the portrayal of life and death and the connection between the two. While death is usually viewed as a dark and scary concept, just as how many fear the night, once it loses its intimidation by the addition of beauty and light it has a more tranquil quality that Van Gogh perfectly emulated in Starry Night. This is shown through the addition of stars that beam through the hollows of the sky. 

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most acclaimed paintings in all of art history, and with good reason. It has so many interesting qualities, its dynamic attributes, vibrant color use, and interesting layout make it so unique and alluring. All of which contribute to the underlying theme of life and death that is so well connected to the piece. This painting will undoubtedly stay an iconic art piece for decades, and will continue to have a deep impact onto all that view this beautiful painting. 
