Marcus Chen
The Starry Night, painted by Vincent van Gogh in June 1889, is an oil-on-canvas work depicting the view from the artist's asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. It has been housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City since 1941. The painting is regarded as one of the most recognizable pieces in the Western canon, with its expressive night sky and depiction of a small hillside village.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist | Vincent van Gogh |
| Year | 1889 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 73.7 x 92.1 cm |
| Genre | Post-Impressionist |
| Subject | Night sky over a village |
| Location | The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City |
| Provenance | Acquired in 1941 through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest |
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What You'll Learn
The painting is housed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City
The painting "Starry Night" by Van Gogh is housed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It has been part of the museum's permanent collection since 1941, acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest. The painting is an oil-on-canvas work created by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh in June 1889.
The Museum of Modern Art, often abbreviated as MoMA, is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is often regarded as one of the world's largest and most influential museums of modern art. The museum's collection includes a wide range of modern and contemporary art, including architecture and design, drawings, paintings, photography, prints, sculpture, and media and performance art.
The Museum of Modern Art has played a significant role in defining and collecting modern art. It has a vast collection of influential artworks from the late 19th century to the present. The museum's curatorial departments cover various artistic disciplines, with dedicated spaces for specific types of art. For example, the Architecture and Design department showcases objects ranging from architectural models to furniture, lighting, and wall coverings.
The painting "Starry Night" is a renowned work by Van Gogh, created during his stay at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. The painting depicts the view from the artist's asylum room window, with an imaginary village added to the composition. It is a testament to Van Gogh's expressive use of colour and his ability to capture the beauty of a starry sky.
Housing the "Starry Night" painting, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City stands as a cultural hub, preserving and showcasing this iconic work of modern art for art enthusiasts and visitors from around the world to appreciate and enjoy.
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Van Gogh painted it during his time at an asylum
The Starry Night is one of the most recognisable paintings in the Western canon. Painted in oil on canvas in June 1889, it depicts the view from the east-facing window of Vincent van Gogh's asylum room at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. Van Gogh admitted himself to the asylum on 8 May 1889, following a mental breakdown and an infamous act of self-mutilation in which he severed part of his own ear with a razor.
During his year-long stay at the asylum, Van Gogh remained highly productive, creating some of the best-known works of his career, including Irises from May 1889 and a blue self-portrait from September 1889. The Starry Night was painted during the day in Van Gogh's ground-floor studio, based on the view from his bedroom window, which he painted variations of no fewer than twenty-one times. He wrote to his brother, Theo, around 23 May 1889, describing the view: "Through the iron-barred window, I can see an enclosed square of wheat...".
Van Gogh had been preoccupied with the idea of painting a night landscape for some time before he painted The Starry Night. In a letter to his sister, Wil, on 16 June 1889, he described a landscape he was working on, which is now known as Green Wheat Field with Cypress, the first painting at the asylum he painted en plein air. Two days later, he wrote to Theo, stating that he had painted "a starry sky". The Starry Night is the only nocturne in the series of views from his bedroom window.
Van Gogh's time at the asylum was marked by bursts of productivity that alternated with moods of despair. As an artist who preferred working from observation, Van Gogh was limited to the subjects that surrounded him, including his own likeness, views outside his studio window, and the surrounding countryside, which he could visit with a chaperone. He also made several sketches for The Starry Night, of which The Enclosed Wheatfield After a Storm is typical. It is unclear whether the painting was made in his studio or outside. In a letter to Theo, Van Gogh described the view that inspired the painting, writing: "This morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big".
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He wrote about the painting in letters to his family
The painting "Starry Night" by Vincent van Gogh is currently housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, where it has been since 1941. The painting was created in mid-June 1889 and was inspired by the view from Van Gogh's bedroom window at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
Van Gogh wrote about the painting in letters to his family, particularly his brother Theo and his sister Wil. In a letter to Wil on June 16, 1889, he described one of the two landscapes he was working on, F719 Green Wheat Field with Cypress, now in Prague, which was the first painting he created at the asylum en plein air.
In a letter to Theo around June 9, 1889, Van Gogh mentioned working outside for a few days and described the landscape as:
> "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, or the "morning star," was indeed visible at dawn in Provence in the spring of 1889 and was nearly as bright as possible. On June 23, 1889, Van Gogh wrote to Theo about the view from his bedroom window, describing it as:
> "Through the iron-barred window, I can see an enclosed square of wheat..."
Around June 18, Van Gogh wrote to Theo again, saying he had a new study of a starry sky, referring to "Starry Night." In a letter dated around September 20, 1889, Van Gogh mentioned the painting again, including it in a list of paintings he was sending to Theo in Paris. He referred to it as a night study and wrote:
> "All in all, the only things I consider a little good in it are the Wheatfield, the Mountain, the Orchard, the Olive trees with the blue hills, and the Portrait and the Entrance to the quarry, and the rest says nothing to me."
Despite the large number of letters Van Gogh wrote, he said relatively little about "Starry Night" specifically. However, his letters provide valuable insights into his thoughts, experiences, and artistic process during the time he created the painting.
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The painting is oil on canvas
The painting "Starry Night" by Van Gogh is a product of oil on canvas. It is a moderately abstract landscape painting dominated by a night sky swirling with chromatic blue swirls, a glowing yellow crescent moon, and stars that look like radiating orbs. The painting was created in mid-June 1889, inspired by the view from Van Gogh's bedroom window at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum, a former monastery that served as a mental asylum. Van Gogh admitted himself voluntarily to the asylum on May 8, 1889, after suffering a mental breakdown and a notorious act of self-mutilation in late December 1888.
During his year-long stay at the asylum, Van Gogh remained highly productive, creating masterpieces such as "Irises" and a self-portrait, in addition to "The Starry Night." The painting's celestial elements include Venus, which was visible in the sky at the time, although the moon's depiction is not astronomically accurate. The cypress trees in the foreground are exaggerated in scale compared to other works, and Van Gogh's letters indicate that he viewed them primarily from an aesthetic perspective rather than a symbolic one.
The painting has been subject to various interpretations, ranging from religious symbolism to representations of Van Gogh's emotional turmoil. The village depicted in the painting is imaginary, based on sketches rather than the actual landscape visible from the asylum. Van Gogh's composition process for "The Starry Night" involved utilizing elements from previously completed works stored in his studio, as well as drawing on his imagination and memory.
"The Starry Night" has been in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City since 1941. It was acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest. The painting has been described as a touchstone of modern art and is considered one of the most recognizable paintings in Western art history.
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It was painted in June 1889
The Starry Night, often simply called Starry Night, is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. It was painted in June 1889 and has been housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City since 1941. The painting is considered a "touchstone of modern art" and is regarded as one of the most recognisable paintings in Western art.
Van Gogh painted The Starry Night during his year-long stay at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. He voluntarily admitted himself to the asylum on 8 May 1889, following a mental breakdown and an infamous act of self-mutilation in which he severed part of his ear. During his time at the asylum, Van Gogh was encouraged to paint and granted access to a second-story bedroom and a ground-floor studio.
The painting depicts the view from the east-facing window of Van Gogh's asylum room just before sunrise, with the addition of an imaginary village. The celestial elements include Venus, which was visible in the sky at the time, and an inaccurate depiction of the moon. The cypress trees in the foreground are exaggerated in scale compared to other works.
Van Gogh referenced the painting in several letters to his family and friends, including one to his brother, Theo, around 23 May 1889, in which he described the view through his "iron-barred window". In a letter to Theo dated around 18 June, Van Gogh mentioned that he had painted a new study of a starry sky, referring to The Starry Night.
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Frequently asked questions
The painting has been in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City since 1941.
Starry Night is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh.
Van Gogh painted Starry Night in June 1889.
Starry Night depicts the view from the east-facing window of Van Gogh's asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise, with the addition of an imaginary village.
Starry Night is characterised by its use of contrasting colours, the exaggerated scale of the cypress trees in the foreground, and the depiction of Venus in the sky.
