Starry Night[1] (September 1888, French: La Nuit étoilée), commonly known as Starry Night Over the Rhône, is one of Vincent van Gogh's paintings of Arles at night. It was painted on the bank of the Rhône that was only a one or two-minute walk from the Yellow House on the Place Lamartine, which van Gogh was renting at the time. The night sky and the effects of light at night provided the subject for some of van Gogh's more famous paintings, including Café Terrace at Night (painted earlier the same month) and the June, 1889, canvas from Saint-Remy, The Starry Night.
A sketch of the painting is included in a letter van Gogh sent to his friend Eugène Boch on 2 October 1888.[2]
Starry Night, which is now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, was first exhibited in 1889 at Paris' annual exhibition of the Société des Artistes Indépendants. It was shown together with van Gogh's Irises, which was added by Vincent's brother, Theo, although Vincent had proposed including one of his paintings from the public gardens in Arles.
The view is from the quay on the east side of the Rhône, into the knee of the river towards the western shore: coming down from the north, the Rhône turns to the right at this point to surround the rocks on which Arles is built. From the towers of Saint-Julien and Saint-Trophime at the left, the spectator follows the east bank up to the iron bridge connecting Arles to the suburb of Trinquetaille on the right, western bank. This implies a view from Place Lamartine towards the southwest. 43°40′57″N4°37′49″E / 43.682367°N 4.630287°E / 43.682367; 4.630287 Though, as noted below this is not consistent with the stars portrayed as the Plough in Ursa Major would not be visible in that direction.
Genesisedit
Letter sketch, 2 October 1888, now in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Van Gogh announced and described this composition in a letter to his brother Theo:
Included a small sketch of a 30 square canvas - in short the starry sky painted by night, actually under a gas jet. The sky is aquamarine, the water is royal blue, the ground is mauve. The town is blue and purple. The gas is yellow and the reflections are russet gold descending down to green-bronze. On the aquamarine field of the sky the Great Bear is a sparkling green and pink, whose discreet paleness contrasts with the brutal gold of the gas. Two colorful figurines of lovers in the foreground.[3]
In reality, the view depicted in the painting faces away from Ursa Major, which is to the north. The foreground indicates heavy rework, wet-in-wet, as soon as the first state was finished.[4] The letter sketches executed at this time probably are based on the original composition.
Colours of the nightedit
The challenge of painting at night intrigued van Gogh. The vantage point he chose for Starry Night allowed him to capture the reflections of the gas lighting in Arles across the glimmering blue water of the Rhône. In the foreground, two lovers stroll by the banks of the river.
Depicting colour was of great importance to Vincent; in letters to his brother, Theo, he often described objects in his paintings in terms of colour. His night paintings, including Starry Night, emphasize the importance he placed on capturing the sparkling colors of the night sky and of the artificial lighting that was new to the era.
^For a tracing of the original composition see Roland Dorn 1990, ill. p. 388
Sourcesedit
Boime, Albert: Van Gogh's Starry Night: A History of Matter and a Matter of History . Arts Magazine. 59 (4): 86–103. (also available on CD-ROM: ISBN3-634-23015-0 (German version))
Dorn, Roland: Décoration: Vincent van Gogh's Werkreihe für das Gelbe Haus in Arles, Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim, Zürich & New York 1990 ISBN3-487-09098-8 / ISSN 0175-9558
External linksedit
Media related to Starry Night Over the Rhone at Wikimedia Commons
October 27, 2023
starry, night, over, rhône, other, uses, starry, night, disambiguation, starry, night, september, 1888, french, nuit, étoilée, commonly, known, vincent, gogh, paintings, arles, night, painted, bank, rhône, that, only, minute, walk, from, yellow, house, place, . For other uses see Starry Night disambiguation Starry Night 1 September 1888 French La Nuit etoilee commonly known as Starry Night Over the Rhone is one of Vincent van Gogh s paintings of Arles at night It was painted on the bank of the Rhone that was only a one or two minute walk from the Yellow House on the Place Lamartine which van Gogh was renting at the time The night sky and the effects of light at night provided the subject for some of van Gogh s more famous paintings including Cafe Terrace at Night painted earlier the same month and the June 1889 canvas from Saint Remy The Starry Night Starry Night 1 French La Nuit etoileeArtistVincent van GoghYear1888CatalogueF474 JH1592MediumOil on canvasDimensions72 5 cm 92 cm 28 5 in 36 2 in LocationMusee d Orsay ParisA sketch of the painting is included in a letter van Gogh sent to his friend Eugene Boch on 2 October 1888 2 Starry Night which is now in the Musee d Orsay in Paris was first exhibited in 1889 at Paris annual exhibition of the Societe des Artistes Independants It was shown together with van Gogh s Irises which was added by Vincent s brother Theo although Vincent had proposed including one of his paintings from the public gardens in Arles Contents 1 Subject matter 2 Genesis 3 Colours of the night 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 External linksSubject matter edit nbsp A similar view of the site 2008The view is from the quay on the east side of the Rhone into the knee of the river towards the western shore coming down from the north the Rhone turns to the right at this point to surround the rocks on which Arles is built From the towers of Saint Julien and Saint Trophime at the left the spectator follows the east bank up to the iron bridge connecting Arles to the suburb of Trinquetaille on the right western bank This implies a view from Place Lamartine towards the southwest 43 40 57 N 4 37 49 E 43 682367 N 4 630287 E 43 682367 4 630287 Though as noted below this is not consistent with the stars portrayed as the Plough in Ursa Major would not be visible in that direction Genesis edit nbsp Letter sketch 2 October 1888 now in the Van Gogh Museum AmsterdamVan Gogh announced and described this composition in a letter to his brother Theo Included a small sketch of a 30 square canvas in short the starry sky painted by night actually under a gas jet The sky is aquamarine the water is royal blue the ground is mauve The town is blue and purple The gas is yellow and the reflections are russet gold descending down to green bronze On the aquamarine field of the sky the Great Bear is a sparkling green and pink whose discreet paleness contrasts with the brutal gold of the gas Two colorful figurines of lovers in the foreground 3 In reality the view depicted in the painting faces away from Ursa Major which is to the north The foreground indicates heavy rework wet in wet as soon as the first state was finished 4 The letter sketches executed at this time probably are based on the original composition Colours of the night editThe challenge of painting at night intrigued van Gogh The vantage point he chose for Starry Night allowed him to capture the reflections of the gas lighting in Arles across the glimmering blue water of the Rhone In the foreground two lovers stroll by the banks of the river Depicting colour was of great importance to Vincent in letters to his brother Theo he often described objects in his paintings in terms of colour His night paintings including Starry Night emphasize the importance he placed on capturing the sparkling colors of the night sky and of the artificial lighting that was new to the era See also editList of works by Vincent van GoghReferences edit a b Musee d Orsay Vincent van Gogh Starry Night Musee d Orsay 2007 07 31 Retrieved 2020 09 21 Letter to Eugene Boch including a sketch of Starry Night over the Rhone painting Archived from the original on July 29 2012 Letter 543 For a tracing of the original composition see Roland Dorn 1990 ill p 388Sources editBoime Albert Van Gogh s Starry Night A History of Matter and a Matter of History Arts Magazine 59 4 86 103 also available on CD ROM ISBN 3 634 23015 0 German version Dorn Roland Decoration Vincent van Gogh s Werkreihe fur das Gelbe Haus in Arles Georg Olms Verlag Hildesheim Zurich amp New York 1990 ISBN 3 487 09098 8 ISSN 0175 9558External links edit nbsp Media related to Starry Night Over the Rhone at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Starry Night Over the Rhone amp oldid 1160874168, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
