Wonderful essay, Nicole. It's never easy to write about such an iconic work, but I love the way you balance the history and Van gogh's own creative technique here with the wider context of post impressionism too. (Plus, a brilliant bit of insight about the village actually being Dutch rather than French! Another sign that Vincent painted this piece from memory / imagination, as opposed to direct observation as he did with many other works.)
I have seen the other Starry Night (over the Rhone) on a few occassions - but still hoping that one day I'll be lucky enough to see this one in real too.
I love how he really did bring his past and present circumstances together in this painting. I’ve always felt that it had a real dream-like quality to it. Thank you as always for your incredibly kind words!
I love Van Gogh and the effort his brother Theo made to get Vincent recognized, but his wife, Johanna, is rarely mentioned. After his death, she continued Theo's legacy and managed to get Vincent's paintings recognized. 🥺
Yes! I've only read the letters sent to his brother Theo, and OMG. Many saw him as a lunatic, but he was so polite. He expressed his views on art, religion, and life in general, not to mention his paintings. It made me appreciate his art even more.
I keep saying, we need to make more close-up print screens of our favorite paintings. It's an amazing tool to study art closer and also get a whole new little painting! Awesome.
This is a lovely piece of writing. You're so right in how the ubiquitousness of the image has made it easy to overlook the essence of Starry Night. We see it so often - on journals and tea cups and tote bags - that we forget just how bold and groundbreaking it would have been. You did a great job bringing such freshness to it. I love that you included Wheat Field with Cypresses and the Irises, these are similar enough to Starry Night that they remind us of them, but different enough that by sitting with these works and appreciating the quality of their making, it breaths new life into our appreciation of Starry Night too. Wheat Field with Cypresses is actually my favourite of Van Gogh's and a must see if you're ever in NYC.
Wonderful essay, Nicole. It's never easy to write about such an iconic work, but I love the way you balance the history and Van gogh's own creative technique here with the wider context of post impressionism too. (Plus, a brilliant bit of insight about the village actually being Dutch rather than French! Another sign that Vincent painted this piece from memory / imagination, as opposed to direct observation as he did with many other works.)
I have seen the other Starry Night (over the Rhone) on a few occassions - but still hoping that one day I'll be lucky enough to see this one in real too.
I love how he really did bring his past and present circumstances together in this painting. I’ve always felt that it had a real dream-like quality to it. Thank you as always for your incredibly kind words!
I love Van Gogh and the effort his brother Theo made to get Vincent recognized, but his wife, Johanna, is rarely mentioned. After his death, she continued Theo's legacy and managed to get Vincent's paintings recognized. 🥺
Johanna was an amazing person! She also saved Vincent's letters, which is so helpful now for researchers
Yes! I've only read the letters sent to his brother Theo, and OMG. Many saw him as a lunatic, but he was so polite. He expressed his views on art, religion, and life in general, not to mention his paintings. It made me appreciate his art even more.
Loved this! I saw it at the Met in summer of 2023.
A wonderful Vincent story. I truly enjoyed reading this especially the quotes aligned with the artwork. Nicely done! Thank you!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it
Thank you
I keep saying, we need to make more close-up print screens of our favorite paintings. It's an amazing tool to study art closer and also get a whole new little painting! Awesome.
This is a lovely piece of writing. You're so right in how the ubiquitousness of the image has made it easy to overlook the essence of Starry Night. We see it so often - on journals and tea cups and tote bags - that we forget just how bold and groundbreaking it would have been. You did a great job bringing such freshness to it. I love that you included Wheat Field with Cypresses and the Irises, these are similar enough to Starry Night that they remind us of them, but different enough that by sitting with these works and appreciating the quality of their making, it breaths new life into our appreciation of Starry Night too. Wheat Field with Cypresses is actually my favourite of Van Gogh's and a must see if you're ever in NYC.