The Starry Night
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About The Starry Night
Vincent van Gogh painted The Starry Night in 1889, while he was living in Saint-Rémy, France. It shows a small village beneath a deep blue sky filled with bright stars and a glowing moon.
Look at the sky. Does it seem quiet, or does it feel as if it is moving?
Van Gogh used thick, curved brushstrokes to make the night twist and flow across the painting. The village below looks much calmer, so the sky feels even more powerful.
The Starry Night is not a picture of one exact view. Van Gogh changed and combined what he saw, using color and shape to create his own vision of the night. That is one reason the painting can feel both peaceful and full of energy at the same time.
Artwork details
- Artist
- Vincent van Gogh
- Date
- June 1889
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 73.7 × 92.1 cm
- Collection
- The Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Object number
- 472.1941
Sources & rights
Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889. The Museum of Modern Art, 472.1941. Image via Wikimedia Commons (Google Art Project), Public Domain.
