Background Information
“The Starry Night” was painted by Vincent Van Gogh in 1889. Van Gogh painted “The Starry Night” while at the asylum of Saint Paul de Mausole. He suffered from occasional relapses of paranoia and epileptic fits. Van Gogh then relapsed and began to suffer from hallucinations and thoughts of suicide, spiraling down into depression. According to “The Van Gogh Gallery,” this is when Van Gogh had a “tonal shift in his work,” meaning he began using darker colors, as seen in “The Starry Night.”
Opinion
I really love Vincent Van Gogh, “The Starry Night.” The first thing I notice when I look at the painting is the loopy, spirals covering the upper canvas and the rolling hills and building beneath them. I love the way the texture of the painting make it look like the wind is actually blowing over that little town. Another thing I notice about “The Starry Night” is the contrast between the blue and yellow colors throughout the painting. Blue and yellow are complementary colors, so the blue really makes the yellow colors of the moon and the stars pop. I love how he faded the yellow color around the moon to give it a glowing effect, like it’s shining out over you.
When I go on drives in the winter, I usually go up Chena Ridge road, all the way around. There is one spot towards the top where you can look out and see almost the whole town of Fairbanks, and some nights the moon hits the town just right and it reminds me of “The Starry Night.” This is one reason why I love this painting, it reminds me of my home. I would definitely own a copy of it in my house.
Works Cited
“Van Gogh Starry Night: Van Gogh Gallery.” Van Gogh Starry Night – The Painting and The Story, https://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starry-night.html
Lane's blog 
Hi Lane!
I loved your descriptiveness of Van Gogh’s work, and I really appreciate your in depth analysis. I, too, love “Starry Night”, but I had no clue it was painted while he was detained in an asylum. That is so interesting! It’s funny you brought up that spot up on Chena Ridge. I drive that road in between classes or in between studying as a way to wind down a little and take a break, and I love stopping at the look out and seeing the city lights when it’s nighttime. Great post!
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Hi!
Wonderful blog post! This is one of my favorite paintings by Gogh. It is painted in such an interesting style that draws the eyes. The white and yellow set against the blue really makes it pop. I find the texture of the painting to be really unique. The painting looks like it belongs in a storybook.
I completely agree that this painting reminds me of looking over Fairbanks at night. The swirls and stars in the sky remind of how in the winter the clouds and fog make them hazy.
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Great job on your blog post!
It provided many interesting facts and details about “The Starry Night” art piece. I too really enjoy this piece by Vincent Van Gogh’s. “The Starry Night” is such an interesting and intricate piece of work. I like how you mentioned that this piece has so many different textures and colors. I believe that these specific details are a huge contribution to telling the story beyond this piece. After reading your piece I was interested in what inspired Van Gogh to take this style approach with his work, specifically the lines. In an article I found, it stated that he was interested in learning about “medieval woodcuts” which is where he got the inspiration for the lines/shapes shown in his piece. Which I thought was very interesting.
Paulson, Dr. Noelle C. “Van Gogh, The Starry Night.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/modernity-ap/a/van-gogh-the-starry-night.
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