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Dylan Huang
Mrs. Jones
English Honors Language
18 December 2020
The Starry Night by Van Gogh
How could a painting produced by a mentally ill man be so priceless? The Starry Night
by Van Gogh, was a modernist painting produced in 1889, showing the restlessness in Van Gogh
after a mental breakdown. Van Gogh painted The Starry Night after a month in the hospital in
Saint-Rémy receiving treatment for a mental breakdown. The contrast of the restless sky and the
peaceful village of this artwork shows what Van Gogh feels. Even though Van Gogh feels
restless as shown by the sky and the cypress tree, the painting is peaceful due to the contrasts
between the village and the sky.
In the painting, there are stars and a moon in the sky. The sky itself looks like wind and
clouds as if it is moving in cycles and it changes constantly. “The ethereal painting’s balanced
composition is composed of celestial swirls, stylized stars, a radiating moon” (Cole). I delete
another author’s name. This quote says that the sky looks like swirls, which reminds me of
something that is moving. And the stars and moon are surrounded by golden color so the
painting is not too dark.
The starry sky is full of movement and changes. The night sky is high and far away, big
stars and small stars are swirling in the night sky. With many swirls in the sky, it makes people
think of the passage of time because time is always moving. The dark green cypress trees
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resemble huge flames that respond to the starry night. The cypress tree’s branches and leaves are
shaking in the wind which conveys the painter's inner depression and struggles. I changed my
word, from author to painter. Under the sky, the sleeping village is so peaceful and serene. The
light blue tones and dynamic lines give people a sense of free time and space. Even though Van
Gogh feels restlessness and struggles as shown by the sky and the cypress tree, the painting is
peaceful and represents hope through the stars and the village. “Although at this point Van Gogh
had largely given up his religious beliefs, he carried a deep love for the natural world, wherein he
found solace. ‘Hope is in the stars,’ The artist wrote to his brother” (Cole). I deleted some words
that doesn’t need to be in the word cited sorce. This quote explains why I see hope through the
stars in the painting, I believe if Van Gogh tried to work hard, he would have overcome the
restlessness and had peace in his heart. (Moved this paragraph from 5th to 3rd).
Another important part of this painting is that there is a big dark green cypress tree that
looks like a huge flame. The cypress tree is tall and wide, and it almost touches the sky. “The
dark green brown cypress tree is like huge flames” (The Starry Night). Instead of putting the
name of the website, I just put the topic of the website. This quote proves my point, and explains
that even though the big dark green thing looks like a flame, it is a tall cypress tree. Under the
sky, there is a small village surrounded by an iron-fence. There are some lights in the house that
look realistic. “Through the iron-barred window I can make out a square of wheat in an
enclosure” (My Modern Met). I put the website's name instead of the sorce in the website. In this
quote, the village Van Gogh talks about is Saint-Rémy in France. This is a real village Van Gogh
stayed in during his treatment.
After living a life of extreme disappointment and poverty, Van Gogh decided to study
arts. In the 1880s, he went to school at the Royal Academy of fine Arts in Belgium and studied
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with the landscape painter Anton Mauve to study painting. Ultimately, he decided to learn by
himself. He overcame many difficulties and tried to express the world according to his own
knowledge. One of his many famous earlier masterpieces is called Starry Night Over the Rhone,
and it was made in 1888. Starry Night Over the Rhone was the early version of The Starry Night
as they shared some common characteristics. (The Starry Night) I cited my sorce. In July 1890,
he shot himself during a psychotic episode at the age of 37. The Starry Night is an oil painting
created by Van Gogh, and it is one of Van Gogh’s masterpieces and is now in the Museum of
Modern Art in New York. The Painting now is worth more than 110 million dollars. I put the
wrong price. In 1989, The Starry Night was shown in Paris.
The painting shows a village, mountains, and plants that are covered with blue sky and
golden stars. In the painting, the sky stands for the restlessness of Van Gogh. The green cypress
is like a huge flame, and it is responding to the restless sky. With all the movement, the village is
peaceful and serene. When these two contrasting elements combine and are well balanced, it
gives the viewer a peaceful and calm feeling about this painting.
Conclusion
Over all, I indented all my paragraphs, and made sure that I cited my sorce correctly. I
moved my 5th paragraph to 3rd paragraph, because it was still about the painting. And finally, I
make sure that the price of the painting is correct.
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Works Cited
Gogh, Van. The Starry Night. 1889. Museum of Modern Art New York. MoMA.
https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5270. 14 December 2020.
Gogh, Van. Starry Night Over the Rhone. 1888. Musée d’Orsay. Musée d’Orsay.
https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/search/commentaire_id/starrynight-7190.html. 14 December 2020.
Cole, Marghterita, and Richman-Abdou, Kelly. “How Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ Came to
Be and continues to inspire Artists.” My Modern Met, https://mymodernmet.com/starrynight-van-gogh/.Accessed 13 December 2020.
Unknown. “The Starry Night.” Baidu Baike, https://baike.baidu.com/item/星月夜/52889.
Accessed 13 December 2020.
Unknow. “Vincent Van Gogh.” Baidu Baike,
https://baike.baidu.com/item/文森特·梵高/349237?fromtitle=梵高&fromid=143831.
Accessed 13 December 2020.
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