Death and Rebirth in Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night
Perhaps death is not the hardest thing in a painter’s life… Looking at the stars always makes me dream, as simply as
I dream over the black dots representing towns and villages on a map. Why, I ask myself, shouldn’t the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France?
Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star.
Vincent van Gogh Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Zundert, Netherlands. At the age of seventeen he entered the art world when his uncle helped him obtain a position at art firm. These were the happiest years in Van Gogh’s life. He fell in love. Nonetheless, the rejection of his love made him leave the firm to pursue studies in theology and missionary work. The evangelical authorities were not pleased with Van Gogh’s work. They disagreed with his lifestyle, which resembled martyrdom (Charles 56). Thus, he was forced to leave the evangelical work. It lead to a decision to become an artist. However, the Van Gogh never left his interest in religion. Throughout his life the artist suffered from painful anxiety and was haunted by periods of mental illness (Charles 98). In 1889 Van Gogh voluntarily entered the asylum of