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Many people ask me why I wrote "Vincent's Night", and why I am such a large fan of Vincent van Gogh and of his art. And why, of all subjects, did I choose to write a piece of music on him and his painting the "Starry Night"? I'll do my best to answer these questions formally here.
"Vincent's Night" is not only about Vincent's most famous painting the "Starry Night"; it's not a sort of musical representation of the artwork (or an audio pairing to the visual), it's more about trying to capture why Vincent painted it; where he was when he painted it, and because of that, what he was feeling when he painted it.
Along with the stars and swirls, I hoped to express the beauty he saw in the world that, to him, was also frightening yet gentle; his depression, bitterness, confusion, anger, and acceptance of being what he was. Van Gogh painted "Starry Night" while looking out of his sanatorium window in the south of France - what you see when looking at "Starry Night", is what he saw as the view from his window. However, there's so much feeling in that painting - between the swirls, the blues, the yellows, the stars, the townhouses, and the movements - you have to ask, what's behind all of that other than just the surface beauty of art, paint, and brushstrokes? What inspired it or moved him to paint it?
Today, we see that painting everywhere (as replicas on walls, on mugs, in watches, on skirts, on scarves, on shirts, on shoes, in frosting on cakes, on umbrellas, as decals covering entire vehicles, as 3M Post-It notes, etc), and at some point in life you've probably even heard someone say: "That is the most beautiful painting in the entire world" or "I love that painting; it's my most favorite painting in the entire world". Although, I've found that whenever I ask some people "why?" ("Why is it the most beautiful painting in the world?" Or "Why do you think it is, and why is it your most favorite?"), I can never really get an answer other than remarks on its visual beauty. It was in moments like that that I hoped for different answers; for them to tell me more. "Do you see anything else in it?" is met with "Am I supposed to see something else in it?"
Self-Portrait - Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Paris, July-August 1887. Oil on canvas, 44.5 cm x 33.6 cm. Used with permission. Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
We should see the painter. See Vincent. See the man who suffered so much internally, and used a lot of that pain as fuel to paint and express what he saw while refusing to conform to what others of his time said "art" was "supposed" to be. All of this, which is impressive and revolutionary. Biography after biography, we read how his art was compared to that of a child, how he was rejected often and in many different ways. We are told about (and sometimes condense his fame to just) his famous detached ear, we watch an actor portray him sobbing in a wheat field, and in one case, we even see him go back in time with a "doctor" to witness his art as it is loved today. We learn how he yearned for love, longed for acceptance, and deeply needed relationships of all kinds, and how most, if not all, were unfulfilled or met with a harsh end or untimely demise. According to his (and his brother Theo's) letters, in life Vincent sold only one painting (to a relative), and passed away thinking himself a failure, troubled, mad, different, and an outcast. And yet, today he and his paintings are among the most beloved painters and paintings in the world.
Looking through our lens for beauty, we sometimes forget to see what lies underneath, and I hoped that music would also help us see and recognize more than just a starry night.
For more information on Vincent van Gogh and his paintings, please visit the enchanting website of the Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam, by clicking here. For more information on the use and permissions regarding the digital images of Van Gogh's artworks, please click here.