Critique on a Painting

Starry Night ~by Vincent van Gogh

This famous piece of art called The Starry Night is by Vincent van Gogh.
The mood that the entire painting sets is dreamy. The subtle but the fantastic contrast set by the type of strokes used, in spite of the same value(thickness) of the brush used can be seen in Gogh's depiction of objects of natural origin and those, which are man-made.


If you see with a detailed eye, the Cypress bush in the foreground, the rolling hills, the swirling clouds and even the stars are depicted using Rolling strokes of the brush, thus highlighting their flexible and changing nature. While, the Town Center, the houses and other buildings (being man-made) are painted using straight, fast strokes showing their staunch, stubborn nature.


The placement of the Cypress bush in the foreground, the amazing interplay between the dark and light strokes in the same layer, gives a wonderful sense of depth( i.e the 3rd dimension) in this painting.


The stars have a point origin and a bright glow around them. this lends the dreamy effect to the painting. Also, noteworthy is the way he painted  the moon, which has a outer-worldly charm and glow.
Gogh could've painted the bush in the foreground shorter ( than the town center's spire), but he painted it long enough, so that it reaches for the skies, thus giving more importance to nature.