Vincent Van Gogh Vincent Van Gogh example essay topic

Vincent Van Gogh Vincent Van Gogh; a well known name by most and a highly reputable figure amongst painters and other artists, he showed his true talent and passion for the arts in his short career, a career which only lasted ten years (Preble 117). As we know, it takes a tremendous amount of effort, awareness and creativity to convey your emotions, thoughts and feelings through your work. Here, we will attempt to construe his feelings through his work and also begin to view and understand things the way Van Gogh did. The painting, from the 1880's is that of a night's sky composed of oil on canvas. At a first glance Van Gogh's painting seems to be composed entirely abstract, but with a closer look and more attentiveness you begin to notice the detail that makes this piece so remarkable.

Van Gogh uses mainly complementary colors in this work, such as the blues for the night's sky and oranges for the moon and stars, which in turn make each of the colors more noticeable. He also used different values of the same color, a variety of greens, blues and yellows which make the work seem complete and unified. Vincent applied these colors on very thickly with short strokes of the brush. As we can tell the repetition of these strokes sets the rhythm. It seems almost like all the brush stokes are flowing from right to left, except at the center of interest; the wind, where the strokes seem to be from the left to the right. He also uses implied lines to keep our attention on the painting.

It seems as if though he has almost 'created' a triangle between the tree, wind and moon to keep our eye traveling throughout. Van Gogh also used a unique technique in this work that not many other painters had attempted before his time; he used both organic and geometric shapes. The houses in the painting are very geometrically shaped, with triangular roofs and square windows and doors. The hills, mountains and trees however are especially organic with soft curves and round edges. By using different sizes and proportions, Van Gogh added contrast and variety to this painting.

He proportioned the tree larger than the village and stars to show dominance, while also using a variety of elements such as the houses, wind, stars and trees to keep the viewers interest. After all keeping our interest is one of the strengths of this work. To interpret The Starry Night and the feelings it can provoke or evoke from oneself you can observe it from more than one point of view. It can be perceived as a feeling of loneliness or coldness. It may also be seen as a disruption arising during a quite time or just as a sense of plenty of energy. At a first looked at this painting you do not believe there was a significant meaning to this particular piece.

After having read more on Van Gogh and watching videos on his life we view it differently, we see it as a significant milestone in his life. In one video we watched in class it showed a scene, which to me represented The Starry Night, about a place where he often went to visit. Also, after hearing about the life he led as such a lonely man I see how the tree can be a symbol of self-portrait.