The Starry Night

Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night (p. 389) in 1889. For this piece of artwork
van Gogh used oil paint on a 29" X 36 1/4" canvas. In this painting van Gogh painted a dark
village with a giant Cypress tree placed along with a small spiral church which draws the
viewer's attention towards the sky that is depicted with stars and swirls upon the dark village.
Van Gogh placed an emphasis on the Cypress tree by painting it large, long, and pointing
towards the sky. He also did this with the spiral church as it's spiral stands very straight and tall
aiming towards the sky.
Vincent van Gogh's painting is made of a plenty visual elements such as line, space, light,
color, and texture. Van Gogh used soft brush strokes across his entire painting which consist of
mainly soft lines throughout the entire canvas. The effect of this visual element in this painting
allows for the sky to be depicted with soft lines that curve in order to create a soft, light
movement upon the sky. Besides the soft movement created upon the sky, van Gogh managed to
create a sense of implied depth through his use of space. For example, he created depth on a two
dimensional medium by painting the Cypress tree very large and by placing it on the lower left
hand side of his painting. Also, by painting the spiral church small right down the center of the
canvas it allowed van Gogh to create a sense of implied depth on a flat canvas. Another
technique van Gogh used was the technique of overlapping objects and vertical placement to
achieve his desirable effect of depth, we can clearly see this as the Cypress tree overlaps the hills
and the sky along with the placement of the church. Another visual element van Gogh illustrated
in his painting is the element of light, he depicted this element through his choice of color as he
chose yellow, some orange and red for the windows to create a sense of warmth and light

coming from the dark, small village. He also selected the colors yellow and white to illuminate
the cold, dark sky. By his choice of color any viewer viewing this painting is able to sense the
visual element of light that is laid out carefully upon the sky and the small village windows
creating a sense of comfort.
Since I mentioned color in regards to the visual element of light, color is also considered
a visual element upon this drawing. Vincent van Gogh used dark, cool colors such as dark blue,
dark green, black, along with a hint of light blue. Through the use of color van Gogh created a
sense of dark coldness upon the sky and a sense of solitude among the village. In addition, van
Gogh used the visual element of texture as he used thick brush strokes throughout the entire
painting to create a dramatic look upon the sky. This dramatic look can be seen as the brush
strokes created swirls in the sky and the clouds created textural rhythms. Rhythm is a principle of
design which can be seen through the swirls in the sky, creating a soft, light rhythm among the
stars and clouds redirecting our eyes to the center of the painting where the Cypress tree and
church are located. Van Gogh created an emphasis in the sky to catch out attention through the
use of texture and rhythm along with the scale size between the Cypress tree and the spiral
church.
The Cypress tree, spiral church and the sky are perfect examples to illustrate that van
Gogh's painting is an example of abstract art even though it is a post impressionist painting.
These objects painted have taken the essence of an actual Cypress tree, spiral church, and the sky
as they depict natural objects in a painting, they might not appear identical but they have been
painted to represent these natural objects. Through the use of these objects I'll provide my
interpretation in regards to the usage of his spiral church and the sky. I googled the year he past

away and that was in 1890, van Gogh created this painting a year before his death. I personally
think he was trying to reach out to God and the heavens as he redirected our view towards the
sky through the use of a pointy Cypress tree and the pointy spiral church. Van Gogh's painting
mostly consists of dark colors and cool tones, setting an emotional tone of a dark and lonely
village along with a cold, windy sky. Although, I get the sense of loneliness across the village
and the sky there is a sense of warmth coming from the village windows, shining stars, and the
glossy, bright moon. I think van Gogh was trying to portray his solitude in regards to his
sickness, yet he was portraying a sense of hope as he created this warmth of light from the
village windows and stars.
Many viewers will be able to relate to my interpretation, while others will interpret this
painting differently. Yet, any viewer will definitely agree with the visual elements and principles
of design van Gogh used to create this painting such as line, texture, color, implied depth, space,
light, emphasis, scale, and rhythm. These visual elements and principles of design will contribute
to any viewer's interpretation as these ingredients of art speak to the viewer viewing The Starry
Night.