Vincent Van Gogh
# Dutch post-Impressionist painter
# After years of painful anxiety and frequent bouts of mental illness, he died at the age of 37 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
# Loved art from his early age
# In just over a decade, he produced more than 2,000 artworks, consisting of around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches. His work included self portraits, landscapes, still lifes of flowers, portraits and paintings of cypresses, wheat fields and sunflowers.
He created movement in the sky in the drawing. He uses the swirling motion of the color in the sky. This shows the artist's interpretation of wind. Besides that, we can also see the repetition of the brushstrokes and paint dabs. In the painting we can see that the stars which are drawn are all yellow in color and its round. Besides that, it is all vary in size and placement vary in size and placement, and have "halos" of light encircling them.
Line
In art, line are those that maintain the basic form of a shape. It can be implied either vertical or horizontal. Looking back at the picture above, the artist uses the actual lines in the swirling shapes of he stars in the sky. The lines are horizontal and it acts as a directional movement indicators. It leads the viewer's gaze across the top of the composition. These lines are the focal point, or center of interest, in the entire piece, and are the first thing most viewers see when looking at "Starry Night."
Unity
Visual unity is one of the most important aspects of well-developed art and is planned by the artist. Unity provides the cohesive quality that makes an artwork feel complete and finished. When all the elements in a work look as though they belong together, the artist has achieved unity. Looking at the drawing above, the artist is very concerned with the unity of his paintings. In this one, the swirling brush strokes and dominance of cool colors tends to unify the surface and create the feeling that everything belongs together.
Texture and Contrast
Texture is implied in "Starry Night." Van Gogh's heavy brushstrokes cause the painting to appear to have a rough texture. The painted lines in the sky and on the tree in the foreground of the painting look three-dimensional. The texture creates contrast, and makes the hills and stars in the painting seem emphasized and on a different plane from the rest of the elements.
Evocative Use of Color
Artists use color to add emotion and meaning to a work of art. It can help create balance, harmony, contrast and rhythm in a painting. In "Starry Night," van Gogh uses color for all of these purposes. The bright yellow of the stars and moon repeat, creating rhythm and balance in the composition. The yellows contrast against the blues seen in the night sky and the village, which makes the yellow hue stand out more. The balance of dark and light also creates harmony throughout the painting.
Composition
Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is a composition that depicts a starry evening over a French city. The painting uses a nighttime scene, with stars, the moon, trees and a city to evoke comfort and familiarity from the viewer. Even though the night sky is bright and swirling, the composition is somewhat soothing. It contains rhythm, harmony and balance across the canvas, which creates a unified whole.
Expressionism
Expressionism is art that is more associated with emotion or feeling that with literal interpretation of a subject. Expressionistic art uses vivid colors, distortion, two-dimensional subjects that lack perspective. It is created to express the emotions of the artists as well as produce an emotional response of the viewer.
Referencehttp://www.nhsdesigns.com/graphic/principles/unity.php
http://www.osnatfineart.com/expressionism.jsp
http://www.ehow.com/info_8554841_art-principles-starry-night.html
http://www.coreknowledge.org/mimik/mimik_uploads/lesson_plans/1045/A%20Study%20of%20Van%20Goghs%20The%20Starry%20Night.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Van_Gogh_Starry_Night_Drawing.jpg
