Elena Rossi
The Starry Night, painted by Vincent van Gogh, is an oil-on-canvas work of art that was completed in June 1889. It is one of the most recognizable paintings in the Western canon and is currently housed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Van Gogh painted this masterpiece during his stay at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The painting depicts the view from his window, showcasing a night sky with swirling chromatic blue hues, a glowing crescent moon, and radiant stars. Van Gogh's fascination with the night sky and his unique perspective resulted in a painting that has captivated audiences for generations.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date Painted | June 1889 |
| More Precise Date | Mid-June or late June or early July |
| Date First Displayed | 1941 |
| Painter | Vincent van Gogh |
| Painting Type | Oil on canvas |
| Painting Size | 73.7 x 92.1 cm |
| Painting Style | Post-Impressionist |
| Painting Location | The painter's ground-floor studio at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence |
| Painting Description | A view from the painter's east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise, with the addition of an imaginary village |
| Painting Inspiration | The view from the painter's bedroom window, the morning star, and an 1845 drawing by astronomer William Parsons, Earl of Rosse, of the Whirlpool Galaxy |
| Current Location | The Museum of Modern Art in New York City |
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What You'll Learn
Van Gogh painted The Starry Night in mid-June 1889
The Starry Night, painted by Vincent Van Gogh, is an oil-on-canvas work of Post-Impressionism. It is considered one of Van Gogh's most recognisable paintings and is hailed as his magnum opus. The painting is a view from the artist's asylum room window at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise. It is the only nocturne in the series of views from his bedroom window.
In early June, Van Gogh wrote to Theo about the view from his window: "This morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big". Researchers have determined that Venus, or the "morning star", was visible at dawn in Provence in the spring of 1889. It would have been nearly as bright as possible.
Van Gogh had been thinking about painting a starry sky for months before he created The Starry Night. In a letter to the painter Émile Bernard in the spring of 1888, he wrote: "A starry sky, for example, well – it’s a thing that I’d like to try to do, but how to arrive at that unless I decide to work at home and from the imagination?"
The Starry Night was painted during the day in Van Gogh's ground-floor studio. It was not painted from memory, but the view from his window, facing east. Van Gogh painted variations of this view no fewer than 21 times, including The Starry Night.
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The painting was inspired by the view from his asylum bedroom window
The Starry Night, painted by Vincent van Gogh, is often regarded as one of the most recognisable paintings in the Western canon. It is an oil-on-canvas painting, created in mid-June 1889 and inspired by the view from the artist's asylum bedroom window. Van Gogh voluntarily admitted himself to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum, a former monastery, on 8 May 1889, following a mental breakdown and self-mutilation. During his year-long stay, he remained highly productive, creating several notable works, including The Starry Night.
The painting depicts the view from the east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise, with the addition of an imaginary village. Van Gogh described the scene in a letter to his brother, Theo, writing, "Through the iron-barred window, I can see an enclosed square of wheat... above which in the morning I see the sunrise in its glory." He also wrote about seeing the countryside from his window before sunrise, with only the morning star, which appeared very large. Researchers have confirmed that Venus, or the "morning star," was visible at dawn in Provence in the spring of 1889 and was nearly as bright as possible.
Van Gogh's letters reveal that he viewed the cypress trees in the painting primarily in aesthetic rather than symbolic terms. However, analysts have interpreted the cypress tree in the foreground as a symbol of death and the artist's eventual suicide, as well as immortality. The tree reaches into the sky, serving as a direct connection between the earth and the heavens. Van Gogh himself likened death to a train that travels to the stars in a letter to his brother.
Art historians have also offered interpretations of the painting's hidden content and symbolism. Meyer Schapiro suggests that the work has an "apocalyptic theme of the woman in pain of birth, girded with the sun and moon and crowned with stars, whose newborn child is threatened by the dragon," referencing the New Testament Book of Revelation. Sven Loevgren expands on this idea, calling The Starry Night a "visionary painting" born out of a "state of great agitation." Albert Boime's study of the painting identifies not only Venus but also the constellation Aries, suggesting that Van Gogh originally intended to paint a gibbous moon.
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Van Gogh wrote about the morning star in a letter to his brother
The Starry Night, painted by Vincent Van Gogh, is an oil-on-canvas painting from June 1889. It is considered one of his best-known works, and he is believed to have painted it around 18 June. The painting depicts the view from the window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise.
> "This morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big."
Researchers have confirmed that Venus, also known as the "morning star," was visible at dawn in Provence in the spring of 1889 and was nearly as bright as possible. Van Gogh's interest in the night sky and the stars is evident in his other works as well. He wrote about the challenges of painting a night landscape and the colours of the stars in letters to his sister, Willemien, and fellow painter, Émile Bernard.
Van Gogh referenced the painting in a letter to Theo on or around 20 September 1889, where he included it in a list of paintings he was sending to his brother in Paris, describing it as a "night study." However, he considered the painting a failure, and it was one of three paintings he held back from the batch to save on postage.
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The painting is a nocturne, a night-time study of the view
The Starry Night, painted by Vincent van Gogh, is a nocturne—a night-time study of the view from his asylum room window at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Van Gogh had a particular interest in painting night skies, and The Starry Night is the only nocturnal study in a series of paintings depicting the view from his bedroom window. The painting was created in mid-June 1889, inspired by the view from his east-facing bedroom window at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum. Van Gogh had voluntarily admitted himself to the asylum following a mental breakdown and an infamous act of self-mutilation in which he cut off part of his ear.
The painting depicts a view of the countryside before sunrise, with the addition of an imaginary village. In a letter to his sister, Wil, dated 16 June 1889, Van Gogh described the landscape he was working on, which is now known as "Green Wheat Field with Cypress". Two days later, he wrote to his brother, Theo, stating that he had painted "a starry sky". This was likely a reference to The Starry Night, as researchers have determined that Venus, or the "morning star", was visible at dawn in Provence in the spring of 1889, and would have appeared very bright.
Van Gogh's interest in painting night skies is evident in his correspondence with family and friends. In a letter to his sister, Willemien, he wrote about the rich colours of the night sky and the varying colours of the stars, which he observed during his time in rural southern France, away from the city street lights. He also referenced the painting in a letter to the painter Emile Bernard, expressing his desire to paint a starry sky and the challenges of working from imagination rather than from direct observation.
The Starry Night is considered a masterpiece and one of Van Gogh's most famous works. It is an oil-on-canvas painting, dominated by a swirling blue night sky, a glowing yellow crescent moon, and stars depicted as radiating orbs. The foreground features one or two flame-like cypress trees, with their dark branches curling against the moving sky. In the distance, a structured village sits peacefully, with the slender steeple of a church rising above the rolling blue hills. The painting is a powerful expression of Van Gogh's state of mind during his time in the asylum, reflecting both the turbulence and hope present in his life at that time.
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Van Gogh painted the view from his window 21 times
The Starry Night, painted by Vincent Van Gogh, is an oil-on-canvas painting that has been described as a touchstone of modern art. It is regarded as one of the most recognisable paintings in the Western canon. The painting was created in mid-June 1889 and is inspired by the view from Van Gogh's bedroom window at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The former monastery served as a mental asylum, where Van Gogh admitted himself on 8 May 1889, following a mental breakdown and an infamous act of self-mutilation that occurred in late December 1888.
Van Gogh had been contemplating the subject of a blue night sky dotted with yellow stars for several months before he painted The Starry Night in late June or early July of 1889. He referenced it in letters to his family and friends, expressing his desire to attempt this challenging theme. In a letter to his sister Wil on 16 June 1889, Van Gogh described the second of two landscapes he was working on, which is now known as "Green Wheat Field with Cypress". Two days later, he wrote to his brother Theo, stating that he had painted "a starry sky".
The view from Van Gogh's window, which inspired The Starry Night, was one that he painted variations of no fewer than 21 times. This view included an enclosed square of wheat and, in the morning, a glorious sunrise. The pictorial element uniting all of these paintings is the diagonal line coming in from the right, depicting the low rolling hills of the Alpilles mountains. In 15 of the 21 versions, cypress trees are visible beyond the far wall enclosing the wheat field. Van Gogh exaggerated their size in six of these paintings, most notably in "Wheat Field with Cypresses" and "The Starry Night", bringing the trees closer to the picture plane.
The Starry Night is the only nocturne in the series of views from his bedroom window. It is a dreamy interpretation of the artist's asylum room's sweeping view of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The painting's celestial elements include Venus, which was visible in the sky at the time, and swirling skies that some art historians link to contemporary astronomical discoveries. The village in the painting is an imaginary addition, based on sketches rather than the actual landscape seen from the asylum.
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Frequently asked questions
It is believed that Van Gogh painted The Starry Night in mid-June 1889.
The painting was created in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France.
The painting is currently in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The Starry Night is an oil-on-canvas painting.
Van Gogh was inspired by the view from his asylum room window at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, which he described in a letter to his brother, Theo.
