His Inspiration and who he inspired
This painting is loosely based off of the view out of Van Gogh’s window at the mental asylum, though it is not an exact copy in any way. Van Gogh was experimenting with painting things he remembered such as the church in the middle-ground of the painting that is traditional of Holland; the artist homeland. Parts of it are based in reality and other parts are from his imagination or memory.
The focus of the painting seems to be the cypresses swaying in the foreground. Some possible significance of these trees in this painting is the Greeks and Romans name for it; ‘the mourning tree’ (Peters 2005). A site on the symbolism of trees notes that the cypress is a tree signifying sacrifice (Love 2014). This is significant due to the idea that the painting is a focus on Van Gogh’s definition of death in relation to stars noted in the section labeled ‘Interpretations’.
This iconic painting has inspired many other artists in different forms; such as dance, writing, music, and various other paintings by people such as Tupac Shakur and Anne Sexton (Kussman).
Anne Sexton was a poet who is fascinated by death, she writes very dark poems, including “The Starry Night”. Her poem is about her interpretation of the painting, which is a beautiful way of dying. Shakur on the other hand published a book of poems titled: “Starry Night”, the interesting thing about his works is that they are not focused on how he perceived The Starry Night but instead they focus on being a dedication to Van Gogh, written in his honor. This writer wanted to recognize Vincent for his amazing works and the fact that he put everything into his works and did not get any of the deserved recognition until after death (Kussman).
Van Gogh's work inspired a range of people, including mathematicians and scientists. In a video by Natalya St. Clair, it outlines a study that began in 2004 based on a formation of clouds made up of dust and gas that began around a star in outer space. This study was done by scientists in places such as Mexico, Spain and England; who sought to study the formation in relation to The Starry Night and its likeness to a mathematical equation by Kolmogorov. These luminance were thought to be similar to the luminance found in paintings such as Vincent van Gogh’s. They found that in turbulent times in Van Gogh’s life, there was an increased amount of ‘turbulent fluid structures’ whereas in paintings done in calmer periods of his life; the painting is seen as having less turbulent fluid structures (TED-ED 2014).
The focus of the painting seems to be the cypresses swaying in the foreground. Some possible significance of these trees in this painting is the Greeks and Romans name for it; ‘the mourning tree’ (Peters 2005). A site on the symbolism of trees notes that the cypress is a tree signifying sacrifice (Love 2014). This is significant due to the idea that the painting is a focus on Van Gogh’s definition of death in relation to stars noted in the section labeled ‘Interpretations’.
This iconic painting has inspired many other artists in different forms; such as dance, writing, music, and various other paintings by people such as Tupac Shakur and Anne Sexton (Kussman).
Anne Sexton was a poet who is fascinated by death, she writes very dark poems, including “The Starry Night”. Her poem is about her interpretation of the painting, which is a beautiful way of dying. Shakur on the other hand published a book of poems titled: “Starry Night”, the interesting thing about his works is that they are not focused on how he perceived The Starry Night but instead they focus on being a dedication to Van Gogh, written in his honor. This writer wanted to recognize Vincent for his amazing works and the fact that he put everything into his works and did not get any of the deserved recognition until after death (Kussman).
Van Gogh's work inspired a range of people, including mathematicians and scientists. In a video by Natalya St. Clair, it outlines a study that began in 2004 based on a formation of clouds made up of dust and gas that began around a star in outer space. This study was done by scientists in places such as Mexico, Spain and England; who sought to study the formation in relation to The Starry Night and its likeness to a mathematical equation by Kolmogorov. These luminance were thought to be similar to the luminance found in paintings such as Vincent van Gogh’s. They found that in turbulent times in Van Gogh’s life, there was an increased amount of ‘turbulent fluid structures’ whereas in paintings done in calmer periods of his life; the painting is seen as having less turbulent fluid structures (TED-ED 2014).