«Starry Night» by Vincent van Gogh: what does this picture tell me?

«FIND YOUR WAY TO SKY»

Maria Revyakina, art historian:

The picture is divided into two horizontal planes: the sky (upper part) and the earth (urban landscape below), which are pierced by a vertical of cypresses. Soaring into the sky, like tongues of flame, cypress trees with their outlines resemble a cathedral, made in the style of «flaming Gothic».

In many countries, cypresses are considered cult trees, they symbolize the life of the soul after death, eternity, the frailty of life and help the departed find the shortest path to heaven. Here, these trees come to the fore, they are the main characters of the picture. This construction reflects the main meaning of the work: the suffering human soul (perhaps the soul of the artist himself) belongs to both heaven and earth.

Interestingly, life in the sky looks more attractive than life on earth. This feeling is created thanks to the bright colors and the unique technique of painting for Van Gogh: through long, thick strokes and rhythmic alternation of color spots, he creates a feeling of dynamics, rotation, spontaneity, which emphasizes the incomprehensibility and all-encompassing power of the cosmos.

The celestial bodies are shown greatly enlarged, and the spiraling vortices in the sky are stylized as images of the galaxy and the Milky Way.

The effect of twinkling heavenly bodies is created by combining cold white and various shades of yellow. Yellow color in the Christian tradition was associated with divine light, with enlightenment, while white was a symbol of transition to another world.

The painting is also replete with celestial hues, ranging from pale blue to deep blue. The blue color in Christianity is associated with God, symbolizes eternity, meekness and humility before his will. The sky is given most of the canvas to show its superiority and power over the world of people. All this contrasts with the muted tones of the cityscape, which looks dull in its peace and serenity.

«DO NOT LET THE MADNESS CONSUME YOURSELF»

Andrey Rossokhin, psychoanalyst:

At the first glance at the picture, I notice the cosmic harmony, the majestic parade of stars. But the more I peer into this abyss, the more clearly I experience a state of horror and anxiety. The vortex in the center of the picture, like a funnel, drags me, pulls me deep into space.

Van Gogh wrote «Starry Night» in a psychiatric hospital, in moments of clarity of consciousness. Creativity helped him come to his senses, it was his salvation. This is the charm of madness and the fear of it I see in the picture: at any moment it can absorb the artist, lure him in like a funnel. Or is it a whirlpool? If you look only at the top of the picture, it is difficult to understand whether we are looking at the sky or at the rippling sea in which this sky with stars is reflected.

The association with a whirlpool is not accidental: it is both the depths of space and the depths of the sea, in which the artist is drowning — losing his identity. Which, in essence, is the meaning of insanity. Sky and water become one. The horizon line disappears, inner and outer merge. And this moment of expectation of losing oneself is very strongly conveyed by Van Gogh.

The center of the picture is occupied by not even one whirlwind, but two: one is larger, the other is smaller. Head-on collision of unequal rivals, senior and junior. Or maybe brothers? Behind this duel one can see a friendly but competitive relationship with Paul Gauguin, which ended in a deadly collision (Van Gogh at one point rushed at him with a razor, but did not kill him as a result, and later injured himself by cutting off his earlobe).

And indirectly — Vincent’s relationship with his brother Theo, too close on paper (they were in intensive correspondence), in which, obviously, there was something forbidden. The key to this relationship can be 11 stars depicted in the picture. They refer to a story from the Old Testament in which Joseph tells his brother: «I had a dream in which the sun, the moon, 11 stars met me, and everyone worshiped me.»

The picture has everything but the sun. Who was Van Gogh’s sun? Brother, father? We do not know, but perhaps Van Gogh, who was very dependent on his younger brother, wanted the opposite from him — submission and worship.

In fact, we see in the picture the three «I» of Van Gogh. The first is the almighty «I», which wants to dissolve in the Universe, to be, like Joseph, the object of universal worship. The second «I» is a small ordinary person, freed from passions and madness. He does not see the violence that is happening in heaven, but sleeps peacefully in a small village, under the protection of the church.

But, alas, the world of mere mortals is inaccessible to him. When Van Gogh cut off his earlobe, the townspeople wrote a statement to the mayor of Arles with a request to isolate the artist from the rest of the inhabitants. And Van Gogh was sent to the hospital. Probably, the artist perceived this exile as a punishment for the guilt he felt — for madness, for his destructive intentions, forbidden feelings for his brother and for Gauguin.

And therefore, his third, main «I» is an outcast cypress, which is distant from the village, taken out of the human world. Cypress branches, like flames, are directed upwards. He is the only witness to the spectacle unfolding in the sky.

This is the image of an artist who does not sleep, who is open to the abyss of passions and creative imagination. He is not protected from them by church and home. But he is rooted in reality, in the earth, thanks to powerful roots.

This cypress, perhaps, is an unconscious symbol of what Van Gogh would like to strive for. Feel the connection with the cosmos, with the abyss that feeds his creativity, but at the same time not lose touch with the earth, with his identity.

In reality, Van Gogh had no such roots. Fascinated by his madness, he loses his footing and is swallowed up by this whirlpool.