Vincent Van Gogh
‚The Starry Night‘

Key Pieces series

To celebrate the late birthday of post-impressionist master Vincent Van Gogh, this week Key Piece is none other than his iconic Starry Night.

1. The Starry Night was painted in 1889 and depicts the view from Van Gogh’s asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
2. He references it among the 800 letters he wrote to his brother Theo in which he states ‘Through the iron-barred window, I can see an enclosed square of wheat… above which, in the morning, I watch the sun rise in all its glory.’
3. Van Gogh omitted to paint the iron-bard in his composition.
4. Van Gogh depicted the view at different times of the day and under various weather conditions, yet only The Starry Night made history.
5. The Starry Night is inspired by religious mood and the after death dimension referred to in the night sky.
6. It is the second Starry Night painted by Van Gogh. The first one was a depiction of an Arles landscape.
7. It belongs to the 2100 artworks produced by Van Gogh, among which only two where sold during his life time.
8. During the time, the painting has belonged to Theo Van Gogh, Julien Leclerq, Emile Schuffenecker and Paul Rosenberg.
9. Art Collector Paul Rosenberg donated the painting to the MoMA in 1931, place where it can still be admired today.
10. It has been largely used in Popular culture and figures therefore on Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris poster.

Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889, Oil on canvas, 73.7 cm × 92.1 cm (29 in × 36 1⁄4 in)

Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889, detail

MoMA