Saturday, November 1, 2014

The Starry Night - Van Gogh


We just learned about one of the most famous paintings ever made, The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci.

Another very famous painting is The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.

When Van Gogh was painting, he was trying very hard to be creative and come up with a special style.
Something that wasn't simple like just a painting of a person or a town.

In his painting he used very bright yellows and bold blues to show contrast.
The spinning swirling wind makes it look like there is actually a strong wind blowing through the air.
The big bright stars and moon in the big blue night sky are there to help you imagine about how a clear dark night sky over a sleepy town might look.
Even the dark shape in the front which are cypress trees or bushes are a very strong contrast.

One very interesting thing about this painting is that after Van Gogh painted it, he cut his ear off!
He was at a mental hospital at the time, which is a place you can go if you are worried about life and not making good choices.
One of his friends came and visited him, and shortly after that Van Gogh went a little crazy, cut part of his ear off and ended up in the hospital with a bandage on his head.

He was ok later on, but it is a very famous story about a very famous painter.


(from: wikipedia - the starry night)


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