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 stars and a large illuminating moon in the corner. It has a quaint village in the middle ground that provides perspective, as well as, a large looming Cyprus tree in the foreground. The 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. 

There are many aspects of Starry Night that provide an intriguing depth to the painting connecting it to death. The village is one of the features that adds to this tranquil feeling. It lies dark and quiet in the shadows of the large rolling hills behind it. It provides a lovely contrast between the bright sky above it, showing how shadowy it is supposed to be. This village is clearly quiet and peaceful these qualities create the connection to death. Lying serenely beneath the night sky with no life to it is a sincere relationship to death that Van Gogh was making. By having all of the homes be dark it shows that the life they should be holding is abandoned. It is important to note that while the connection to death is being made, it isn’t an uncomfortable one. Looking at this painting doesn’t leave you with a sense of uneasiness that one would normally have when looking at something that is supposed to portray death. This says a lot about Van Gogh’s interpretation of it at this time in his life, it is his just soft, beautiful, inevitable future. Additionally, a major aspect that solidifies Van Gogh’s portrayal of death is the Cyprus tree. It implodes up from the foreground into the night sky, connecting the two together. This is a distinct part of the theme of death in his 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 and makes such a large statement showing the significance of death in this painting. This grounds the idea of death, allowing it to be brought to reality by providing the literal symbol of death, making sure it can’t be overlooked. 

Despite all of the dark and deathly attributes woven throughout Starry Night there are so many important qualities that bring life and light into the painting. All of these attributes are found in the beautiful and iconic night sky Van Gogh created. It is simply exploding with energy and light. He has unabashedly bold brushstrokes that create large swirly contours throughout the sky. This dynamic technique creates a fluidity that embodies the essence of life he is also portraying in this painting. It is a divine contrast from the dark middle ground, which only makes how life like the sky is stronger. The color choice Van Gogh uses is another important aspect. 

The contrast of the bright warm stars from the blues of the sky allow for liveliness of the painting to shine through. It is clear by the enlargement of these stars and the moon, and the beautiful haze around them they are meant to illuminate the painting, spreading life and light throughout it. Whereas usually, the night sky is depicted as the dark embodiment of death, Van Gogh reversed this and allowed it to become the source of light and life. 

This representation of life and death was undoubtedly an outlet for Van Gogh. While Van Gogh was creating this painting he had been ordered to stay in Saint-Paul Mausole asylum due to the frequent outbursts that people in his town of Arles, France found threatening (The Biography.com Website Editors). He struggled with rage and deep depression, which can be connected to this painting. A lot of the bold qualities of it are said to represent the torment he was experiencing during his time at the asylum. 

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). Through this letter, and many other letters Van Gogh wrote to his brother he made clear that death was a topic on his mind. He made many associations between death and the stars, and it is these relations that he articulates to his brother that make Starry Night so incredible. An additional important detail about this painting was that he painted it completely from memory, rather than a scene in front of him. It is supposed to be based off of the view out of his window at the asylum, as well as incorporation elements from his original home in Groot-Zundert, Netherlands (The Biography.com Website Editors). The fact he worked from his mind and not his direct surroundings shows how he was at a more unstable point in his life and was truly using this painting as on outlet to express all of his pent up emotions and feelings. This gives Starry Night such a deeper quality, by showing the real vulnerability Van Gogh was expressing in this painting. He had an amazing talent for being able to create such soulful pieces of art. As Roger J. Porter said about Van Gogh, “This urge to challenge and conquer, to see art as combat, leads Van Gogh to regard the blank canvas and the blank paper (whether for drawing or writing) as objects to attack with fore and energy” (Porter 58). Painting was more than just an escape for Van Gogh, it was a challenge. He attacked every project he faced with a full force that allowed for his works to come together beautifully in the end. Overall, Starry Night is a stunning interpretation of life and death that is portrayed through many different qualities throughout the painting. Van Gogh masterfully created this painting and it will remain an iconic art piece for a very long time. 
