The Starry Night
Van Gogh's swirling night-sky painting of the view from his asylum window — and the canonical image of beautiful instability.
Origin
Vincent van Gogh painted it in June 1889 from his room at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he had committed himself the year before. The view is mostly invented — the village and church spire are not what he could see — but the cypress tree, the moon, and the spiraling sky are from his window at predawn. He sold one painting in his life; this was not it. It now hangs in MoMA, one of the most visited paintings on Earth.
Modern usage
'Very Van Gogh' as a style label means swirling, expressive, slightly unhinged — used about everything from latte art to Pixar shorts. The painting is on every postcard rack, dorm-room poster wall, and tote bag. Don McLean's song 'Vincent' ('Starry, starry night…') is the soundtrack version.
Tags