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Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)

Lesson Option 1:

Vincent Van Gogh Play

Narrator: Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch Impressionist painter. His works are perhaps better known generally than any other painter is. (Show "green" self-portrait) The majority of his paintings were done in only 29 months of frenzied activity. In the final ten years of his life he created over 1700 works of art.

Girl #1: Hi, I'm Anna van Gogh.

Boy #1: Hi, I'm Reverend Theodorus van Gogh. We had Vincent on March 30, 1853 .

Girl #1: I taught Vincent to love everything in nature and appreciate all living things. Which pictures indicate that Vincent loved nature? (Show Thatched Roof Houses of Cordeville and Fishing in Spring.)

Boy #1: When Vincent was 4 years old, his brother Theo was born.

Vincent: Hello, I am Vincent van Gogh. I would like to tell you some things about my life. Oh, yes let's start when I was 16 years old. I left home and moved over 20 times before I died. I lived in rural areas of Holland, Belgium, France and England. Wherever I went I always wrote to Theo about what I saw and drew pictures.

I tried many careers. During the ages of 16 to 23. I worked in my Uncle's art galleries in Holland, England and France. That is where I fell in love for the first time. Sad to say, she did not care for me. So I decided to be a preacher and gave everything away and moved to a mining village in Belgium.

I came to realize, that by studying the village people there is nothing in the world as interesting as people. One can never study them enough. I believe everything that is really good and beautiful about humans comes from God.

Narrator: Vincent painted dark colors. His figures were rounded and solid to express the misery and poverty of humanity as he saw it among the miners in Belgium. This is known as his Dutch Period. (Show Four Bird's Nests, Head of Peasant Woman and Potato Eaters or The Weaver)

Theo: Hi, I am Theo, Vincent's brother. Vincent came to live with me in Paris. I was an art dealer and I introduced him to many painters.

Vincent: I remember some of those painters. They painted with bright colors and their landscapes were light and airy. I also liked the Japanese prints. Seeing all this gave me great energy to release all these thoughts going on in my head and heart.

Narrator: For Vincent, all reality was symbolic. Yellow, the color of the Sun, symbolized the force of life itself. He used yellow in most of his works. It became his favorite color. (show a Road with Cypresses and a Star and Sunflowers. In 1987 one of his sunflower paintings sold for 40 million dollars, more that three times the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction.) Van Gogh considered the sun and sunflowers to symbolize the light of God and His presence in the world. By the same token his wheat fields with the sowers and reapers are taken directly from Christ's parables about the kingdom of heaven.

Vincent: I was so excited about painting, I would paint for days. I would not stop to eat or sleep, so I became very nasty to my family. I could not help it. I just loved painting so much.

Theo: I tried to help him take better care of his health, but the more I tried, the more I failed. So Vincent decided to move to Arles in South France to perfect his work. (show Bedroom in Arles and either House in Arles or View of Arles.)

Narrator: Vincent was deep into his work, painting over 200 oils an over 100 drawings and water colors in just one year. (show portraits either The Zouave, Patience Escalier, LaMousme, and Madame Roulin or The Zouave Officer, Portrait of Peer Tanguy, and Mother with Cradle. ) He found a big yellow house and opened up a studio. He invited other artists to join him and live at his studio.

Vincent: Oh, that's right. I remember the day. One of my friends, Paul, who lived at my studio, kept arguing with me about the way I paint. I was not feeling very well. My mind! OH, my mind! I did not behave the way most people would and Paul got angry and left. I felt so sad and down. I felt all alone and defeated in my work. I could not snap out of my funk. So, I had this razor in my hand and, just like that I cut part of my left ear off.

Narrator: (Show Self Portrait wit Bandaged Ear) Vincent had a mental breakdown and decided to check into a mental hospital in May of 1889.

Vincent: I remember that place. There were bars on the windows, but the nuns took good care of me. I painted Starry Night there.

Narrator: (show Starry Night) This painting explodes our imaginations. Two vertical objects (lines of strength) stand out. What are they? (Church steeple and the towering cypress trees) How does van Gogh make the stars seem alive or electric? (waves around them or curved lines. Like pebbles dropped in water)

Theo: While Vincent was painting, I met and married the most wonderful girl. I started to really miss Vincent, and knew of this doctor who understood artists and mental illness. I convinced Vincent to move closer to me. By this time Vincent's work was catching on and many were selling at public sales. Poor Vincent, he was too ill to realize his true success.

Vincent: I did still paint, though. I recall painting 70 more oils and 30 more watercolors in just 2 months. (Show The Church at Auvers, Undergrowth with Two Figures, which is at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and Portrait of Dr. Gachet.) I could not help feeling that I was a burden on Theo. I felt so, so sad.

So, on July 27, 1890, I took a revolver and shot myself. I wounded myself pretty badly.

Theo: Vincent died in my arms two days later. Throughout his life he wrote me hundreds of letters. I knew him so well and I miss him so much.

Narrator: Theo was so grief stricken he too died, six months later. Theo and Vincent are buried side-by-side in a cemetery in Auvers near Paris, France.

Activity found on last page

Lesson Option 2 - Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch postimpressionist painter. His works are perhaps better known generally than any other painter. The majority of his paintings were done in only 29 months of frenzied activity. In the final ten years of his life, he created over 1700 works of art. In 1987 one of his sunflower paintings sol for 39.9 million dollars, more than three times the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction.
Vincent was born March 30, 1853 to Rev. Theodorus van Gogh and Anna, who came from a family of book binders. She loved everything in nature and taught young Vincent to appreciate all living things. When Vincent was 4 years old, his brother, Theo, was born. As boys, Theo and Vincent explored the marshes, woods, and fields near their home in Groot Zundert, a Dutch village near the border of Belgium. (Look at these pictures. Is there any indication that Vincent loved people and things of nature?)
Vincent left home at age of 16 and moved over 20 times. He lived in rural areas of Holland, Belgium, France, and England as well as large cities like London, Brussels, and Paris. Wherever he went, he set down his impressions in hundreds of drawings as well as brilliantly descriptive passages, rich in the philosophy of life, in his letters of Theo.
Vincent tried many careers. From age 16-23, he worked in his uncle's art galleries in Holland, England, and France. While he was an art dealer in London, he fell in love with his landlady's daughter, but when she rejected him, he quit his job. After studying for the ministry, he gave away everything, moved to a mining village in the south of Belgium and served briefly as a preacher. When he failed at this, he dedicated his life to painting and drawing.
He compassionately studied the miners and farmers of Southern Belgium and Holland. He wrote to Theo, "Everything that is really good and beautiful...human beings and their works come from God." and "There is nothing in the world as interesting as people..one can never study them enough." Vincent painted with dark colors and his figures were rounded and solid. This is know as Dutch Period. (Show pictures from the book).
In 1886, he went to live in Paris with his brother, Theo, who was an art dealer. Theo introduced his brother to many painters working in Paris at that time. Some were impressionists and some were not. Their colors were bright and their landscapes were light and airy. Vincent was also impressed by Japanese prints. Like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, the great wealth of creative ability that had been locked up inside Vincent was not released. (Do you see a picture that has a sparse, Japanese look? (1888, Boats on the Beach) How does he use color to make this picture come alive? (Complimentary colors: red and green boats together, bright yellow, vertical mast against a purple/blue sky) Complimentary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel and "fight" each other and stand out. Red-Green, Yellow-Purple, Blue-Orange are complimentary colors.)
For Vincent, all reality was symbolic and yellow, the color of the sun, symbolized the force of life itself. He used yellow in most of his works. It became his favorite color.
Vincent often painted for days, living without food or sleep. He was excitable and quarrelsome. Theo tried to help him keep his fragile health, both physical and mental, but he was not always successful. By 1888, Vincent needed to perfect his own style and moved to Arles in the south of France.
He came into his own because all he had learned and experienced in his life fused together. He reached his peak and painted and painted 200 oils and over 100 drawings and water color in just over a year. He found a big yellow house and opened a studio. He wanted other artist to come live there to perfect their craft.
Paul Gauguin, a tough man who had been a sailor and stockbroker and left his career to become a painter, moved in with Vincent in October of 1888. Gauguin and Vincent quarreled about everything. Gauguin tried to change the way Vincent painted. Finally, in December, Vincent attacked Gauguin, who left in a hurry. Vincent, who suffered from a form of mental illness all of his life, was suffering from sunstroke and other illnesses. He felt alone and defeated, went into a trance like state, and cut off his left ear with a razor.
After Vincent came home from the hospital, he suffered several other attacks of mental breakdown. Between attacks, Vincent was lucid and rational. He decided to check into a mental hospital in May of 1889. There were bars on the windows, but the nuns took care of him. He could continue to paint and have the care he needed. It was here that he painted "Starry Night." The painting explodes our imaginations. Vincent wrote, "People will understand the curious relations which exist between one fragment of nature and another, which explain each other. (Two vertical objects (lines of strength) stand out, what are they? (church steeple and the towering cypress tree) Where are most of the curved lines? (sky) What do they remind you of? (stormy sea) How does van Gogh make the stars seem alive or electric? (waves around them of curved lines, like pebbles dropped in water) )
Theo, now married, wanted Vincent to live nearer to Paris. He wanted Vincent to be under the care of Dr. Gachet, who lived in Auvers and understood artists. One of Vincent's paintings was sold at public sale and critics were saying good things about his work. Vincent was too worn out from illness to understand that he was becoming a success. He only wanted to paint. He produced 70 oil paintings and 30 water colors and drawings in just two months. He painted Vase of Irises, Portrait of Dr. Gachet, and Undergrowth with Two Figures.
Vincent knew his recovery was impossible and felt he was burden to Theo and his family. On July 27, 1890, he took a revolver and shot himself. Mortally wounded, he went back to his room. He died two days later, cradled in his brother's arms. Theo was so grief stricken, that he died six months later. Theo's widow had him buried next to Vincent in the cemetery at Auvers.

Activity

Pass out the Lyrics to the song "Starry, Starry Night" by Don McLean. Play the song and have the students point out on the painting Starry, Starry Night what the words are describing. There are two copies of the song on CD or tape in the art closet.

Starry Ornaments

For holidays, students paint the Starry, Starry Night background on a star ornament with acrylics. Be sure to tell the class ahead of time to bring in paint shirts. Provide each student with a paintbrush or qtip, a cup of water in which to clean brush/qtip, and a pallet (located in art closet) or use paper plate if you do not wish to clean up pallets. Children can group and put together puzzles of van Gogh's prints as they finish. Have students bring in school photo and place in center of star, optional.

Starry Night Acrylics Paintings

Pass out canvas paper (sold in tablet form) and have each student paint their own version of Starry, Starry night with acrylics. Be sure to tell the class ahead of time to bring in paint shirts. Provide each student with a paintbrush or qtip, a cup of water in which to clean brush/qtip, and a pallet (located in art closet) or use paper plate if you do not wish to clean up pallets. Children can group and put together puzzles of van Gogh's prints as they finish.

Divide class into 4 groups. Have students in turn do a class painting of Starry, Starry Night with acrylics on canvas. Three groups put together puzzles of van Gogh's prints while the other group begins painting "Starry, Starry Night" on canvas board. They all take turns to paint. Give painting to teacher.

Impasto Paint for Activities (optional)

Make paint called "impasto". The advantage to using this paint is that it can be layered like oil paints, but without the cost. The ingredients for this paint are 3 bottles of different colors of 16oz dry tempera paints and 1/2 gallon of liquid starch. Using disposable bowls, mix the three colors ahead of time to the consistency you want. Divide the students into groups of four and give them all three colors (ask the students ahead of time which three colors they want). This makes enough paint for 30 sheets of 5x7 pieces of canvas paper. Give students tools to apply paint with like popsicle sticks, combs, toothpicks, etc. Call Terrie Eby (741-1092) if you have any questions.

Cincinnati Art Museum

Art Awareness Saint James Parish