Review 2: Van Gogh

Andrew Burke
Review #2
Van Gogh

An artist is only as good as his inspiration is perceived to be. In 1889 Vincent Van Gogh committed himself  to a mental institution During his time in his cell Van Gogh had very little stimulus for his paintings. He was only permitted to take short walks around and outside the facility during is stay and of course look out his cell’s windows. With these restrictions Van Gogh was able to create arguably his most recognizable work. As well as another lesser known painting.

At the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) a special exhibit is being held entitled “Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night” this exhibit showcases “Starry Night”, a painting that was created during Van Gogh’s stay at the institution. This particular painting has a lot to live up to for the patrons of MoMA because of all of its accolades and its widely accepted designation of Van Gogh’s magnum opus. When I first laid eyes upon this painting I wasn’t immediately taken back by the genius of the painting, in fact I was a little underwhelmed. My expectations were considerably high. When a piece of art is so highly regarded by critics for so many years it is easy to forget why it is so special, we end up admiring it for its admiration. I feel that this was the case for me, at least my first impression of the painting. However, I was determined to see what all of the art critics over the years have seen that made them appreciate this painting. Rather than viewing the other, less acclaimed, paintings in the exhibit I focused in on “Starry Night”. I think because I have seen the image so many times it has just become a symbol to me, a flat picture. This painting has been duplicated into every possible thing a picture can be made into, a mouse pad, a tote bag, and even a keychain. This proliferation of the painting blurs away the detail and its truly redeeming qualities. 

As I spent more time focusing on the details of the painting I began to appreciate it more. The thing that I noticed first was that there isn’t a single wasted brush stroke. While this can be said for any painting I think it is truly remarkable in this one because of all of the different brush sizes and color changes. While many people focus in on the swirling wind and of course the stars I was mesmerized by the hills. While this painting clearly isn’t going for a clear recreation of a scene, the hills look real. I think this is what so many people enjoy about this painting, its detail with the lack of detail. He has stripped everything down to just a collection of a few lines. While this seems simplistic, he has done it for every single object in the painting, from the stars and their halos to the buildings and their peaks.

After my trip to the “Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night” exhibit I began to walk around the rest of the museum. While I was wondering through the labyrinth that is MoMA I was suddenly struck by a very pale green painting across the hall in another room. As I approached it I saw the resemblance to “Starry Night” and thought ‘hey they nailed the style’ and when I looked to the right to see who created this offshoot of Van Gogh’s work I was surprised to see that it was Van Gogh himself. He had painted this painting entitled “The Olive Trees” during the same time he had created “Starry Night” which isn’t surprising considering the identical style. I’m not sure why it wasn’t moved in to the exhibit room with the other Van Gogh’s but I was glad I got to see it. The piece seems to be the reciprocal of “Starry Night”. The sky is mostly at rest while the the trees are swirling and it is daytime. The trees appear to be being blown by the swirling wind in “Starry Night” only the wind isn’t depicted here, only its affects. The same attractive attributes in “Starry Night” are present here, the detail with no detail, and the realistic rolling hills. The main differences appear to be the lack of people or cities and the time of day.

These two works are very much alike. So much so that I wonder why “Starry Night” is so much more recognizable and acclaimed than “The Olive Trees”. Both works were inspired by the same surroundings and both works were executed in the same manner. This experience has somewhat disheartened me because who is to say that Van Gogh didn’t prefer “The Olive Trees” to “Starry Night” and yet it receives all of the accolades. While “The Olive Trees” is still a respected piece of art, consider its presence in MoMA, it, most likely because of its subject matter, daytime, will never be as renowned as “Starry Night”