ESPRESSIONISM –  THE STARRY NIGHT BY VINCENT VAN GOGH


 

Vincent Van Gogh was a very key figure in the world of expressionism or post impression as it was sometimes called. He played a great role in laying the foundation of modern art. A troubled man, he experienced many uncertainties and rejections in his early life, particularly where female love interests were concerned. Religion played a huge role in van Gogh´s life and many of his paintings carry religious undertones. Van Gogh did not experience great success during his lifetime, selling just one painting but after his death his work was revealed to the world and he is now regarded as one of the greatest artists that ever lived. One of his most precious and famous paintings was The Starry Night, 1889.

The Starry night outlook generalize a feeling of isolation due to a long term illness. However, the bright yellow of the stars give rays of hope and ability to keep on dreaming to reach for the stars. The church steeple that seems to almost be touching the sky, stand out above the other smaller buildings and conveys some religious meaning. Also the cypress appears to unite the sky and the somber village. Van Gogh skillfully used line to portray the night scenes. The entire setting appears gloomy but still there is radiating light from the windows of the buildings, indicating a “silver lining even in dark clouds.”

EXPRESSIONSIM - THE SCREAM BY EDVARD MUNCH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edvard Munch was born in Norway in 1863, and spent two decades from 1889 to 1909 working in France and Germany until his death in 1944. During his lifetime of work, he made one of the most significant and enduring contribution to the development of Modernism in the twentieth century. In his themes and subject matter, Munch was profoundly original and radical. He is one of the handful of artists who have shaped our understanding of human experience and transformed the ways in which it might be visually expressed. In my opinion, Munch incorporated the Nihilistic trend in his art. The Scream of 1893, is one of his most dynamic piece which came to him while he was looking down over the Norwegian landscape.

The Scream is set in a typical evening by a waterside. People are seen taking a walk in a background, may be two friends. And in the other direction, one person seem to be engulfed in isolation and fear. The “red” sky and the “bluish black” fjord use by Munch express the emotional state that triggered the scream. The Scream seem to related to the decidedly ugly, hideous, sounds of living being undergoing both physical and emotional crisis in today’s society. There are times in our lives when we just want to scream on top of our voices just to get a sigh of relief. The Screams expresses this reality of the ugly side of life .