•Haunting Melody

• Don McLean

• Vincent

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Vincent or Starry Starry Night by Don McLean 1968

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 Painters-to take them alone-dead and
buried speak to the next generation or to
Vincent Van Gogh several succeeding generations through
their work. Is that all, or is there more to
come?
Perhaps death is not the hardest thing in a
painter's life."

Vincent van Gogh

Letter: 9 July 1888

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 Starry Night: Saint-Remy 1889 is
probably Vincent van Gogh's most
famous painting. Instantly
recognizable because of its unique
style, this work has been the subject
of poetry, fiction, CD-ROMs as well
as the well known song "Vincent" or
"Starry, Starry Night" by Don McLean.
Starry Night was painted while Vincent was in the
asylum at Saint-Rémy and his behavior Starry
wasNight
very stands out as one of
erratic at the time, due to the severitythe
of most important works of art
his attacks.
Unlike most of Van Gogh's works, Starry produced
Night in the nineteenth
was painted from memory and not outdoorscentury. as was
Vincent's preference. This may, in part, explain
why the emotional impact of the work is so much
more powerful than many of Van Gogh's other
works from the same period. 4
Earliest Paintings
Nuenen
Paris
Arles
Saint-Rémy de Provence
Auvers-sur-Oise

Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at

Night, The Arles: September, 1888 5
 Earliest Paintings

"Dear Theo, You must not take it amiss if I write you again
--it's only to tell you that painting is such a joy to me."
Vincent van Gogh 15 August 1882

Boy Cutting Grass with a Sickle

Etten: October, 1881 Beach at Scheveningen in Stormy Weather
The Hague: August, 1882
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Nuenen

Two Peasant Women Digging The Potato Eaters

Nuenen: July, 1885 Nuenen: April, 1885

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 In Paris, Van Gogh's palette comes alive.
Paris

Self-Portrait Vase with Red Poppies

Paris: Summer, 1886 8
Paris: Winter, 1887-88
 Arles

Harvest at La Crau
Arles: June, 1888
Still Life: Vase with Fourteen Sunflowers
Arles: August, 1888 9
Saint-Rémy de Provence

St.Remy Asylum

Wheat Field with Cypresses Saint-Rémy: Early September, 1889 10

Auvers-sur-Oise

Thatched Cottages at Cordeville

Portrait of Doctor Gachet Auvers-sur-Oise: June, 1890
Auvers-sur-Oise: June, 1890
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Stages of Vincent’s Life:

• The Wanderer
• The Man
• The Painter
• The End

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 Stages of Vincent’s Life: The Wanderer
• First Sunday sermon in Isleworth
• Brussels
• Courrières, France

The years of Vincent's wandering suggest that he was looking for something.
Did he ever find it? 13
 Stages of Vincent’s Life: The Man
• Relationships with other people
• Events

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 Stages of Vincent’s Life: The Painter

The Painter on His Way to Work

Arles: July, 1888

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 Stages of Vincent’s Life: The End

All of these moments together, and so much more, help us to put together
the puzzle of Vincent's life--a life so profoundly troubled and yet
which produced such incredible beauty. A life that will never be forgotten.

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