My Art Critique
by: Vincent van Gogh, Starry Night
This canvas is called (The Starry Night) by Vincent van Gogh. The oil-on-canvas painting is dominated by a night sky roiling with chromatic blue swirls, a glowing yellow crescent moon, and stars rendered as radiating orbs. One or two cypress trees, often described as flame-like, tower over the foreground to the left, their dark branches curling and swaying to the movement of the sky that they partly obscure. Among all this animation, a structured village sits in the distance on the lower right of the canvas. Straight controlled lines make up the small cottages and the slender steeple of a church, which rises as a beacon against rolling blue hills. The glowing yellow squares of the houses suggest the welcoming lights of peaceful homes, creating a calm corner among the painting’s turbulence.
The first thing that I noticed was the overwhelming night sky, which takes up most of the background. Its swirling, flowing lines appear to be swishing across the background in this gentle, wavy motion and seem to be merging at the center to form this spiral-like formation. Eleven fiery yellow stars that look like huge fireballs illuminate this whole piece and contrast with the cool blue, fluid night sky that takes on an amazing variety of shades of blue and grey. There is also the crescent moon at the top right hand corner that radiates a more orange, brighter light from the rest of the stars. The view of the night sky and village is partially blocked by this huge cypress bush in the foreground.
It has this writhing quality to it and its black green coloring stands out to the rest of the relatively pastel piece. The houses are tiny and inconspicuously painted in the bottom right corner of the painting and blend in quite well with the forest and mountains. The architecture of the village is quaint and simple and no light illuminates the village, giving the impression that everyone there is probably asleep. In general, his brush strokes are heavy and thick and have this insistent, hectic rhythm to it. As a result, this painting has an illusion of constantly being in motion.
The meaning of the painting is along the lines of peacefulness and serenity. I would not expect this town to be full of crime or noise. Even if it was, this is not what the artist depicted. What he did depict was a town, some houses with twinkling lights, others dark with the peace of sleep. But energy in the painting lives, with the stars glistening like small fireballs. I see that the painting expresses a dark mood, but happy at the same time. I mean this in the way that night has darkness, but light intrudes, creating a feeling of calm beauty. So yes I really like this work of art.
It has this writhing quality to it and its black green coloring stands out to the rest of the relatively pastel piece. The houses are tiny and inconspicuously painted in the bottom right corner of the painting and blend in quite well with the forest and mountains. The architecture of the village is quaint and simple and no light illuminates the village, giving the impression that everyone there is probably asleep. In general, his brush strokes are heavy and thick and have this insistent, hectic rhythm to it. As a result, this painting has an illusion of constantly being in motion.
The meaning of the painting is along the lines of peacefulness and serenity. I would not expect this town to be full of crime or noise. Even if it was, this is not what the artist depicted. What he did depict was a town, some houses with twinkling lights, others dark with the peace of sleep. But energy in the painting lives, with the stars glistening like small fireballs. I see that the painting expresses a dark mood, but happy at the same time. I mean this in the way that night has darkness, but light intrudes, creating a feeling of calm beauty. So yes I really like this work of art.
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