“I still have a passionate need,” I will allow myself this word, “of religion. That’s why I left the house at night and began to draw stars,” Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo.

It's worth going to New York just to meet her, " Starry night"Van Gogh.

Here I would like to give the text of my work on the analysis of this picture. Initially, I wanted to rework the text so that it would be more consistent with the article for the blog, but due to glitches in Word and lack of time, I will post it in its original form, which was difficult to restore after a program failure. I hope even original text will be at least somewhat interesting.

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) – bright representative post-impressionism. Despite the difficult path of life and quite late development Van Gogh as an artist, he was distinguished by perseverance and hard work, which helped him achieve great success in his mastery of drawing and painting techniques. Over the ten years of his life devoted to art, Van Gogh went from an experienced viewer (he began his career as an art seller, so he was familiar with many works) to a master of drawing and painting. This short period became the most vivid and emotional in the artist’s life.

The identity of Van Gogh is shrouded in mystery in the performance modern culture. Although Van Gogh left a large epistolary legacy (extensive correspondence with his brother Theo Van Gogh), accounts of his life were compiled long after his death and often contained fictitious stories and distorted views of the artist. In this regard, the image of Van Gogh emerged as a crazy artist who, in a fit, cut off his ear, and later completely shot himself. This image attracts the viewer with the mystery of the work of a crazy artist, balancing on the brink of genius and madness and mystery. But if you examine the facts of Van Gogh’s biography, his detailed correspondence, then many myths, including those about his madness, are debunked.

Van Gogh's work has become accessible to a wide circle only after his death. At first his work was attributed to different directions, but they were later included in Post-Impressionism. Van Gogh's handwriting is unlike anything else, so even with other representatives of post-impressionism it cannot be compared. This is a special way of applying a smear, using different equipment strokes in one work, a certain coloring, expression, compositional features, means of expression. Exactly this characteristic manner We will analyze Van Gogh using the example of the painting “Starry Night” in this work.

Formal-stylistic analysis

"Starry Night" is one of the most famous works Van Gogh. The painting was painted in June 1889 in Saint-Rémy and has been kept in the Museum of Modern Art in New York since 1941. The painting is painted in oil on canvas, dimensions – 73x92 cm, format – horizontally elongated rectangle, this easel painting. Due to the nature of the technique, the picture should be viewed at a sufficient distance.

Looking at the picture, we see a night landscape. Most of the canvas is occupied by the sky - the stars, the moon, depicted large on the right, and the moving night sky. Trees rise in the foreground on the right, and a town or village is depicted below on the left, hidden in the trees. The background is dark hills on the horizon, gradually becoming higher from left to right. The painting, based on the plot described, undoubtedly belongs to the landscape genre. We can say that the artist brings to the fore the expressiveness and some conventionality of what is depicted, since the main role in the work is played by expressive distortion (color, in the technique of brushstrokes, etc.).

The composition of the picture is generally balanced - on the right with dark trees below, and on the left with a bright yellow moon above. Because of this, the composition tends to be diagonal, including because of the hills increasing from right to left. In it, the sky prevails over the earth, since it occupies most canvases, that is top part prevails over the bottom. At the same time, the composition also has a spiral structure that gives the initial impetus to the movement, expressed in a spiraling flow in the sky in the center of the composition. This spiral sets in motion some of the trees, the stars, the rest of the sky, the moon, and even the lower part of the composition - the village, the trees, the hills. Thus, the composition transforms from the static nature usual for the landscape genre into a dynamic, fantastic plot that captivates the viewer. Therefore, it is impossible to distinguish the background and clear planning in the work. The traditional background, the background, ceases to be a background, since it is included in the overall dynamics of the picture, and the foreground, if you take the trees and the village, is included in the spiral movement and ceases to stand out. The layout of the picture is vague and unsteady due to the combination of spiral and diagonal dynamics. Based compositional solution, we can assume that the artist’s angle of view is directed from bottom to top, since most of the canvas is occupied by the sky.

Undoubtedly, in the process of perceiving the picture, the viewer is involved in interaction with the image. This is obvious from the described compositional solution and techniques, that is, the dynamics of the composition and its direction. And also thanks to the color scheme of the painting - the color scheme, bright accents, palette, brush stroke technique.

A deep space has been created in the painting. This is achieved through color scheme, composition and movement of strokes, differences in the size of strokes. Including due to the difference in the size of what is depicted - large trees, a small village and trees near it, smaller hills on the horizon, a large moon and stars. The color scheme builds depth due to the dark foreground of trees, the muted colors of the village and the trees around it, bright color accents of the stars and the moon, dark hills on the horizon, shaded light stripe sky.

The picture does not meet the criterion in many ways linearity, and most expresses just picturesqueness. Since all forms are expressed through color and strokes. Although in the image of the bottom plan - the town, trees and hills, a distinction is made with separate dark contour lines. It can be said that the artist deliberately connects certain linear aspects to emphasize the difference between the upper and lower planes of the painting. Therefore, the top plan, the most important compositionally, in meaning and in terms of color and technical solutions, is the most expressive and picturesque. This part of the painting is literally sculpted with color and brushstrokes; there are no contour or any linear elements.

Concerning flatness And depths, then the picture gravitates towards depth. This is expressed in the color scheme - contrasts, darker or smoky shades, in technique - due to the different directions of strokes, their sizes, in composition and dynamics. At the same time, the volume of objects is not clearly expressed, since it is hidden large strokes. Volumes are only outlined with individual contour strokes or created through color combinations of strokes.

The role of light in the picture is not significant in comparison with the role of color. But we can say that the sources of light in the picture are the stars and the moon. This can be seen in the brightness of the settlement and trees in the valley and the darker part of the valley on the left, in the dark trees in the foreground and the darkening hills on the horizon, especially those located on the right under the moon.

The silhouettes depicted are closely related to each other. They are inexpressive due to the fact that they are painted with large strokes; for the same reason, the silhouettes are not valuable in themselves. They cannot be perceived separately from the entire canvas. Therefore, we can talk about the desire for integrity within the picture, achieved by technology. In this regard, we can talk about the generality of what is depicted on the canvas. There is no detail due to the scale of what is depicted (far away, therefore small towns, trees, hills) and the technical solution of the painting - drawing with large strokes, dividing what is depicted into separate colors with such strokes. Therefore, it cannot be said that the picture conveys the variety of textures of what is depicted. But a generalized, rough and exaggerated hint of the difference in shapes, textures, and volumes due to the technical solution of the painting is given by the direction of the strokes, their size and the actual color.

Color in "Starry Night" plays main role. Composition, dynamics, volumes, silhouettes, depth, light are subject to color. Color in a painting is not an expression of volume, but a meaning-forming element. Thus, due to the color expression, the radiance of the stars and the moon is exaggerated. And this color expression creates not just an emphasis on them, but gives them significance within the picture, creates them semantic content. The color in the painting is not so much optically accurate as it is expressive. Using color combinations creates artistic image, expressiveness of the canvas. The painting is dominated by pure colors, combinations of which create shades, volumes and contrasts that influence perception. The boundaries of color spots are distinguishable and expressive, since each stroke creates a color spot that is distinguishable in contrast with neighboring strokes. Van Gogh focuses on spot-strokes that fragment the volumes of what is depicted. This way he achieves greater expression of color and shape and achieves dynamics in the painting.

Van Gogh creates certain colors and their shades using a combination of color spots and strokes that complement each other. The darkest places of the canvas are not reduced to black, but only to a combination dark shades different colors, creating a very dark shade in perception, close to black. The same thing happens with the lightest places - there is no pure white, but there is a combination of strokes of white with shades of other colors, in combination with which white ceases to be the most important in perception. Highlights and reflections are not clearly expressed, as they are smoothed out by color combinations.

We can say that the painting contains rhythmic repetitions of color combinations. The presence of such combinations both in the image of the valley and the settlement, and in the sky creates the integrity of the perception of the picture. Different combinations of shades of blue with each other and with other colors throughout the canvas show that it is the main color developing in the picture. The contrasting combination of blue with shades of yellow is interesting. The surface texture is not smooth, but embossed due to the volume of strokes, in some places even with gaps in the blank canvas. The strokes are clearly distinguishable and significant for the expression of the picture and its dynamics. The strokes are long, sometimes larger or smaller. They are applied in different ways, but with quite thick paint.

Returning to binary oppositions, it must be said that the picture is characterized by openness of form. Since the landscape is not fixated on itself, on the contrary, it is open, it can be expanded beyond the boundaries of the canvas, which is why the integrity of the picture will not be violated. The picture is inherent atectonic beginning. Because all the elements of the picture strive for unity, they cannot be taken out of the context of the composition or canvas, they do not have their own integrity. All parts of the picture are subordinated to a single concept and mood and do not have autonomy. This is expressed technically in composition, in dynamics, in color patterns, and in the technical solution of strokes. The picture represents incomplete (relative) clarity depicted. Since only parts of the depicted objects (tree settlement houses) are visible, many overlap each other (trees, field houses), the scales have been changed to achieve semantic accents (the stars and the moon are exaggerated).

Iconographic and iconological analysis

The actual plot of “Starry Night” or the type of landscape depicted is difficult to compare with the paintings of other artists, much less put in a row similar works. Landscapes depicting night effects were not used by the Impressionists, since for them it was precisely lighting effects V different time daylight hours and work in the open air. Post-Impressionists, even if they did not paint landscapes from life (like Gauguin, who often painted from memory), still chose daylight hours and used new ways of depicting light effects and individual techniques. Therefore, the depiction of night landscapes can be called a feature of Van Gogh’s work (“Cafe Terrace at Night,” “Starry Night,” “Starry Night over the Rhone,” “Church at Auvers,” “Road with Cypress Trees and Stars”).

Characteristic in Van Gogh's night landscapes is the use of color contrasts to emphasize important elements of the picture. The contrast of shades of blue and yellow was most often used. Night landscapes were mostly painted by Van Gogh from memory. In this regard, they paid more attention not to reproducing real lighting effects seen or of interest to the artist, but emphasized the expressiveness and unusualness of light and color effects. Therefore, light and color effects are exaggerated, which gives them additional meaning in the paintings.

If we turn to the iconological method, then in the study of “Starry Night” we can trace additional meanings in the number of stars on the canvas. Some researchers connect the eleven stars in Van Gogh's painting with the Old Testament story of Joseph and his eleven brothers. “Listen, I had a dream again,” he said. “There was in it the sun and the moon and eleven stars, and they all bowed down to me.” Genesis 37:9. Considering Van Gogh's knowledge of religion, his study of the Bible and his attempts to become a priest, the inclusion of this story as an additional meaning is justified. Although it is difficult to consider this reference to the Bible as determining the semantic content of the picture, because the stars make up only part of the canvas, and the depicted town, hills and trees are not related to the biblical plot.

Biographical method

When considering The Starry Night, it is difficult to do without a biographical method of research. Van Gogh painted it in 1889 while he was in the Saint-Rémy hospital. There, at the request of Theo Van Gogh, Vincent was allowed to paint in oils and make drawings during periods of improvement in his condition. Periods of improvement were accompanied by creative upsurge. Van Gogh devoted all his available time to working outdoors and wrote quite a lot.

It is noteworthy that “Starry Night” was written from memory, which is unusual for Van Gogh’s creative process. This circumstance can emphasize the special expressiveness, dynamics and color of the picture. On the other hand, these features of the painting can also be explained by the mental state of the artist during his stay in the hospital. His circle of contacts and opportunities for action were limited, and attacks occurred with to varying degrees intensity. And only during periods of improvement did he have the opportunity to do what he loved. During that period, painting became a particularly important way of self-realization for Van Gogh. Therefore, the canvases become more vibrant, expressive and dynamic. The artist puts great emotionality into them, since this is the only possible way express it.

It is interesting that Van Gogh, who describes his life, thoughts and works in detail in letters to his brother, mentions The Starry Night only in passing. And although by that time Vincent had already moved away from the church and church dogmas, he writes to his brother: “I still passionately need,” I will allow myself this word, “in religion. That's why I left the house at night and started drawing stars."

Comparing "Starry Night" with more early works, we can say that it is among the most expressive, emotional and exciting. Tracing the change in his writing style throughout his creative work, there is a noticeable increase in expressiveness, color intensity, and dynamics in Van Gogh’s works. "Starry Night over the Rhone", written in 1888 - a year before "Starry Night", is not yet filled with that culmination of emotions, expressiveness, color richness and technical solutions. You can also notice that the paintings that followed “Starry Night” became more expressive, dynamic, emotionally heavy, and brighter in color. Most vivid examples- “Church in Auvers”, “Wheat field with crows”. This is how “Starry Night” can be described as the last and most expressive, dynamic, emotional and brightly colored period of Van Gogh’s work.

Original painting by Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night. Description, photo, history, year of writing, dimensions, analysis, where it is located.

"The Starry Night" is an oil on canvas painting by Dutch impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh in 1889. Its size: 92 cm x 73 cm. Today the painting is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, USA. However, she often “travels” and is regularly exhibited in various museums in Europe.

This painting is one of Van Gogh's most famous and beloved masterpieces. The picture is immediately recognizable; it inspires poets, directors, musicians, designers and artists. Her writing style is absolutely unique.

Vincent van Gogh created The Starry Night in June 1889, when he was hospitalized at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole convent hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he remained for quite some time, for psychiatric treatment. At that time the artist was spontaneous and unpredictable.

In his letters to his brother, Van Gogh wrote: “... I like to do something difficult. But this doesn’t help me not to feel my great need for religion and preaching, so I go out at night to draw stars.”

The artist was cramped within the framework of our world. The painting is an idealized landscape, brighter and more unusual. Powerful celestial whirlwinds, stars and a crescent moon, in the picture, move, in one wave-like motion, over a small town. On the right is an olive grove and hills, on the left is a cypress reaching into the sky, looking like a flame. “...we use death to travel to the stars,” the artist wrote. Despite the fact that the picture absorbed the state of hopelessness experienced by the artist at the time of its painting, the composition of the picture was not chosen spontaneously, but rather carefully. Trees frame the starry sky and bring balance to the composition.

Eleven stars in the picture - separate topic discussions. It is likely that the composition is influenced biblical story Joseph. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down before me” (Genesis 37:9).

Thirteen months after painting The Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh committed suicide.

Despite (and perhaps thanks to) all the interpretations and hidden meanings, the picture remains one of the most important works 19th century art.

Vincent Van Gogh is a rather mysterious person, his creative path went through alcohol addiction and a stay in a mental hospital.

History of creation

The painting “Starry Night” was created by the author in 1889 in the hospital of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This painting is recognized as a masterpiece. It is located at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. While in the clinic, the artist painted about 150 works. Van Gogh's brother Theo arranged for permission to paint in the hospital. To distract himself from the attacks that tormented the author, he could paint several paintings a day. this work created by Van Gogh from memory, and not from life. This makes it stand out from other paintings.

Composition of the painting

In the painting "Starry Night" special place occupied by the crescent moon and stars. They immediately attract the viewer's attention due to the special technique of execution. The light emanating from the moon and stars creates the appearance of a spiral, which only emphasizes the unsurpassed beauty of the celestial bodies in the picture. In his creation, the artist tries to combine unattainable greatness (stars, month) and earthly life(cypress, village). The cypress trees seem to want to touch the sky, to join the gentle dance of the luminaries. Thanks to the peculiarity of the strokes, it seems that the celestial bodies are moving in the sky.

WITH right side the artist depicted the village. Blue color roofs reflect Moonlight even more. The picture is filled with mystery and splendor, even though it includes dark colors. But against the blue background, the yellow light of the stars and moon looks amazing.

Technique, execution, techniques

The technique of creating the night sky and conveying all the necessary shades was not yet mastered during this period. Vincent Van Gogh was practically a pioneer in this field of art. Dutch artist uses a combination of dark blue, different shades of yellow, while adding dark green, heavenly, brown shades. The color scheme is impressive in its uniqueness. All colors unite and complement each other, while emphasizing the subtlety and depth of the picture.

The canvas depicts 11 stars and a waning month. So the artist wanted to draw a parallel with Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles.

The author of Starry Night was hospitalized with a diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy. Before that, he led an immoral lifestyle, abused absinthe, and worked hard. These factors led to mental disorders. In 1888, while in drunkenness and, having quarreled with his friend Paul Gauguin, the artist cut off his earlobe. The artist's neighbors complained to the mayor's office about him because of the constant noise. Thus, he ended up in the clinic.

Description of Van Gogh's painting “Starry Night”

Dealer appointed to Paris in 1875 art gallery Vincent Van Gogh had no idea that this city would change his life. Young man attracted by the exhibitions of the Louvre and the Luxembourg Museum, he began to study painting himself. True, slightly carried away by religion, which became an outlet after unhappy London love.

A few years later he finds himself in a Belgian village, but no longer as a dealer, but as a preacher. He sees that religion is not interested in alleviating human suffering and the decisive choice in his life is art.

It is worth noting that understanding Van Gogh’s motives and worldview is quite difficult, despite the simplicity of his paintings. Biographers constantly emphasize his Dutch origin, the same as Rembrandt’s, forgetting that in the artist’s family there were mental illness. He cut his ears and drank absinthe, trying to find a connection between man and outside world, painted sunflowers, self-portraits and Starry Night.

Interestingly, famous picture, which is now in the New York Museum contemporary arts is not Van Gogh’s first attempt to paint the sky at night. While in Arles, he created “Starry Night over the Rhone,” but it was not at all what the author wanted. And the artist wanted fabulousness, unreality and amazing world. In letters to his brother, he calls the desire to paint the stars and the night sky a lack of religion, and says that the idea for the canvas was born to him a long time ago: cypress trees, stars in the sky and, perhaps, a field of ripe wheat.

So, the picture, which is a figment of the artist’s imagination, was painted in Saint-Rémy. “Starry Night” is still considered the most phantasmagoric and mysterious painting by the artist - the non-fictional nature of the plot and its extraterrestrial character are so felt. Such drawings are usually made by children, depicting spaceship or a rocket, and here is an artist for whom the essence of the surrounding world is so important.

The fact that the picture was painted in a psychiatric hospital is no secret. Van Gogh at that time was tormented by attacks of madness, which were unpredictable and spontaneous. So “Starry Night” became a kind of therapy for him to help him cope with the disease. Hence its emotionality, color and uniqueness - in hospital confinement there is always a shortage bright colors, sensations and experiences. Maybe that’s why “Starry Night” has become one of the must-haves in the art world - it is discussed by critics of more than one generation, it attracts museum visitors, it is duplicated, embroidered on pillows...

The painting has countless interpretations, starting with the number of stars depicted. There are eleven of them, in brightness and saturation they resemble Star of Bethlehem. But here’s the problem: in 1889, Van Gogh was no longer interested in theology and did not feel the need for religion, but the legend of the birth of Jesus greatly influenced his worldview. It was such a night and such a mysterious glow of stars that marked Christmas. Another moment of the biblical interpretation of the picture is associated with the Book of Genesis, namely with a quote from it: “... I had a dream again... In it there was the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, and everyone bowed to me.”

In addition to the opinions of researchers about the influence of religion on Van Gogh’s work, there are meticulous geographers who still have not figured out what kind of settlement the artist painted. Luck does not smile on astronomers either: they cannot understand which constellations are depicted on the canvas. And weather forecasters are also at a loss: how can the sky be swirling with whirlwinds if at night it is shrouded in serenity and cold indifference.

And only the only hint of the solution was given by the artist himself, writing in 1888: “Looking at the stars, I always begin to dream. I ask myself: why should bright spots on the sky be less accessible to us than black spots on a map of France? So researchers are still deciding which part of the country high fashion depicted by Van Gogh.

What is it that is depicted in this picture that it torments millions, forcing them to search for a solution? A village against the backdrop of a starry sky, and that’s it. Is that all? The blue spiral sky occupies the entire space; the village is just a background for the sky. The majesty of the sky is somewhat softened by the incredibly bright yellow stars, and the mystery of “Starry Night” is given by cypress trees, to which both heaven and earth claim rights.

Interestingly, the panorama of the village has features characteristic of both northern and southern French regions. It is called a generalized image of human settlements. And while he sleeps, a mystery occurs in the sky: the luminaries move, creating new worlds in the menacing and so attractive sky.

The month and stars are simply amazing, they will be remembered for a long time: surrounded by huge halos in the form of spheres various shades– gold, blue and mysterious white. Celestial bodies as if they emit cosmic light, illuminating the blue-blue spiral sky. It is interesting that the wave-like rhythm of the sky captures both the crescent moon and the brightest stars - everything is just like in the soul of Van Gogh himself. The spontaneity of "Starry Night" is actually ostentatious. The painting is thought out and composed very carefully: it seems balanced thanks to the cypress trees and the harmonious selection of the palette.

Its color scheme cannot but surprise with its unique combination of rich dark blue (even a shade of the Moroccan night), rich and sky blue, blackish green, brown-chocolate and color sea ​​wave. There are several shades of yellow, which the artist plays with as best he can, depicting the trails of stars. It has the color of sunflowers, butter, egg yolk, pale yellow…. And the composition of the picture itself: trees, the crescent moon, stars and a town in the mountains is filled with truly cosmic energy...

The stars seem truly bottomless, the crescent moon gives the impression of the sun, the cypress trees look more like tongues of flame, and the spiral curls seem to hint at the Fibonacci sequence. Whatever it is state of mind Van Gogh at that time, “Starry Night” does not leave indifferent any person who saw at least its reproduction.

The painting “The Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh is considered by many to be the pinnacle of expressionism. It is curious that the artist himself considered it an extremely unsuccessful work, and it was written at the moment of the master’s mental discord. What is so unusual about this painting? Let’s try to figure it out later in the review.

1. Van Gogh wrote “Starry Night” in a mental hospital

The moment of creating the painting was preceded by a difficult emotional period in the artist’s life. A few months earlier, his friend Paul Gauguin came to Van Gogh in Arles to exchange paintings and experiences. But fruitful creative tandem it didn’t work out, and after a couple of months the artists finally fell out. In the heat of emotional distress, Van Gogh cut off his earlobe and took it to a brothel to the prostitute Rachel, who favored Gauguin. This was done with a bull defeated in a bullfight. The matador received the cut off ear of the animal.

Gauguin left soon after, and Van Gogh's brother Theo, seeing his condition, sent the unfortunate man to a hospital for the mentally ill in Saint-Rémy. It was there that the expressionist created his famous painting.

2. “Starry Night” is not a real landscape

Researchers are trying in vain to figure out which constellation is depicted in Van Gogh’s painting. The artist took the plot from his imagination. Theo agreed at the clinic that a separate room would be allocated for his brother, where he could create, but the mentally ill would not be allowed outside.

3. Turbulence in the sky

Either a heightened perception of the world, or the discovery of a sixth sense, forced the artist to depict turbulence. At that time, eddy currents could not be seen with the naked eye.

Although 4 centuries before Van Gogh a similar phenomenon was depicted by another genius artist Leonardo da Vinci.

4. The artist considered his painting extremely unsuccessful

Vincent Van Gogh believed that his “Starry Night” was not the best painting, because it was not painted from life, which was very important to him. When the painting came to the exhibition, the artist said about it rather dismissively: “Maybe she will show others how to do night effects better than I did.”. However, for the expressionists, who believed that the most important thing was the manifestation of feelings, “Starry Night” became almost an icon.

5. Van Gogh created another “Starry Night”

There was another “Starry Night” in Van Gogh’s collection. The stunning landscape cannot leave anyone indifferent. The artist himself wrote to his brother Theo after creating this painting: "Why bright stars in the sky cannot be more important than the black dots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, so we die to reach the stars.".

Today the works of this artist cost fabulous money, but