Facts about The Starry Night by Van Gogh

1. 05

   The composition of The Starry Night features eleven swirling stars and a crescent moon illuminating a village nestled beneath turbulent night skies.

   The Starry Night by Van GoghJun 6sharepaintingimpressionismcomposition
2. 04

   A swirling cypress tree dominates the foreground of The Starry Night, a motif Van Gogh used repeatedly as a symbol linking earth and sky.

   The Starry Night by Van GoghJun 6sharepaintingsymbolismimpressionism
3. 03

   Van Gogh described The Starry Night in a letter to his brother Theo, expressing ambivalence about the swirling nocturnal landscape he had created.

   The Starry Night by Van GoghJun 6shareartcorrespondenceimpressionism
4. 02

   Since 1941, The Starry Night has been part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

   The Starry Night by Van GoghJun 6sharemuseumcollectionimpressionism
5. 01

   Painted in June 1889, The Starry Night was created while Van Gogh was a voluntary patient at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

   The Starry Night by Van GoghJun 6sharepaintingimpressionismhistory