Van Gogh’s Starry Night and the Post-Impressionist Movement
Differences Between Impressionism and Post-Impressionism
Impressionism
The guidelines of Impressionism are summarized in the following points:
- Resumption of painting outdoors (en plein air)
- Speed in creation, leading to a pictorial vision that sought to represent objects naturally and objectively. These characteristics brought painting closer to photography, which was emerging in those years.
Post-Impressionism
The concept of Post-Impressionism lies precisely in overcoming this (almost mechanical) view of reality. Post-Impressionist painters rejected the sole visual impression of color and freedom, seeking to go beyond by implementing:
- The restoration of contour lines and design, and therefore the return to the use of brown and black in drawing.
- The use of flat, monochrome background colors.
- The tendency towards linearity and a predilection for two-dimensional representation.
- Painting in the atelier (often creating enormous paintings!) instead of outdoors.
- Subjects were studied and preceded by preparatory drawings.
These techniques gave their works a subjective quality, no longer just a quick view of reality but their own vision, expressing the painter’s perspective.
Van Gogh’s Starry Night: A Deep Dive
Painted in 1889, “Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh (of which there are multiple versions) is perhaps more than any other work by the great Dutch painter, the sum of his naturalistic conception. This is not in strictly philosophical terms, but in terms of his daily, visual relationship with the outside world, and in particular, with the firmament.
The starry sky dominates the composition, speckled with stars, glare, and halos. The artist clearly intended to represent a sensible world, one that fascinates, dazzles, and enchants with its grandeur and emanating energy. Van Gogh’s expressive touch makes the sky envelop the landscape below, as if to wrap and protect it “affectionately” in a large, motherly embrace. The colors of the sky are reflected on houses, mountains, and hills, creating a plethora of blues, yellows, and greens that are juxtaposed, matched, and mixed, reminiscent of Seurat’s Divisionist compositions.
The Troubled Soul of the Artist
There are, however, puzzling and even frightening aspects to the painting. The presence of the cypress in the foreground, with its imposing dark figure, seems to instantly bring the observer to the reality of human destiny. This is made even more “palpable” by the dense, material brushstrokes, imprinted on the canvas with an energy that is not just muscular or physical but comes from deep within the soul.
Even before the painted subjects, it is this instinctive force of the composition that indicates the artist’s troubled relationship with the reality of the world and life. Everything speaks of magic in the canvas. Indeed, it depicts a magical and enchanted village that appears asleep under the moonlit sky. Yet, the winding, broken, sometimes dark lines reveal the artist’s undeniable inner torment.
Light and Dark, Hope and Despair
At the same time, the choice of earth tones, present here and there, such as yellow and orange, help to brighten the mood and offer a sense of beauty and life. Similarly, the atmospheric flows (or astral nebulae) resolved in swirling and spiraling forms, seem to have a momentum and a life of their own, hinting at a higher, divine power.
Van Gogh and Leopardi: A Comparison
Van Gogh, a painter often associated with sunflowers, wheat fields, and meadows, could not escape the charm of a moonlit landscape. He experienced it as valuable as sunlight, but the composition nonetheless carries a melancholic hue, common with other nineteenth-century artists, including Giacomo Leopardi.
The subject of the firmament, the moon in particular, is present in many poets, including Leopardi. However, in Leopardi’s work, it assumes the characteristics of a deep philosophical and metaphysical question. Leopardi also reflects on the man-nature relationship and the impossibility of the modern individual to live a fulfilling and harmonious life.
The comparison between the two artists reveals that Van Gogh’s landscape is physical and concrete, even if it ultimately induces the viewer to supra-existential considerations. In contrast, Leopardi’s silent moon is abstract, distant, and too far removed from humanity to provide answers to the many questions posed. It remains an inscrutable mystery.
Two Moons, Two Perspectives
Van Gogh’s moon (painted by an artist haunted by personal struggles) has the warmth, charm, and energy to comfort. Leopardi’s moon, on the other hand, appears as a huge rock in the sky, devoid of purpose, offering no solace to humanity beyond illuminating its journey.
Van Gogh’s moon is romantic, friendly, and warm, reflecting his impetuous and overwhelming passion for life. Leopardi’s moon is more rational, but no less beautiful and poignant.
What unites the artists is their existence within the same century and their shared feeling of lyrical dismay at the complexities of life.
Post-Impressionism and Van Gogh’s Unique Style
Beyond Description: The Expressive Power of Line and Color
Unlike the Impressionists, Van Gogh projected himself into reality, transforming and transfiguring it according to his feelings. Like Gauguin, he used line not as a descriptive tool, but with an expressive function, imbuing color with evocative power. The color is not realistic but suggestive of emotion, a means for Van Gogh to express himself more forcefully.
The importance lies not in objectively describing the narrated facts, but in conveying the human meaning of what is represented, as it is felt.
From Dark Hues to Vibrant Colors: The Influence of Seurat
In 1886 (the year he moved to Paris), Van Gogh’s painting underwent a turning point. He fully embraced Impressionism, lightening his previously dark and monotonous palette, and came into contact with Seurat’s theories, which he enthusiastically adopted. However, in Van Gogh’s work, it is not pointillism but divisionism, as the dots become juxtaposed tabs of color, arranged to form the subject line (as seen in his portraits).
The Search for Tranquility and the Descent into Darkness
In 1888, he moved to Arles in the south of Provence, a region rich in color and brightness. He planned to open a studio in the South, a haven for artists seeking peace and tranquility. Instead, his mental state worsened, and he was forced to be hospitalized several times. Despite this, he painted some 200 works of the highest quality.
The Legacy of Van Gogh: An Expression of Modern Angst
Van Gogh’s work has been studied through a psychoanalytic lens, attempting to understand the influence of his mental disturbance on his artistic expression. However, the most important aspect is that his works appear as an expression of modern man’s existential anguish, a symptom of the crisis of traditional values in late nineteenth-century Europe.
Summary of Van Gogh’s Main Artistic Features
- Social-realist painting, dark and dramatic, reflecting a profound inner tragedy.
- Exceeding realism and moving away from the proximity to the original methods of Millet.
- Symbolic use of color, expressive of mood.
- Deep interest in the color rendering of light, but separated from the scientific approach typical of “pointillistes.”
- Progressive detachment from Gauguin’s application of color, favoring strokes and filaments that become characteristic of the painter.
- Anticipation of Expressionism.