Learn about the art and artists that inspired Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night and how the painting in turn inspired ekphrastic poetry and music.

This interactive gallery walk can be used by individuals or projected for small-group instruction. For a larger, more responsive, format paste this url in your browser https://bit.ly/McQStudios100

Background

Sometimes the sensational aspects of Vincent van Gogh’s mental illness cloud his accomplishment and his genius as an artist. Did you know he was an activist artist who wanted to use art to serve God and promote democratic values? Did you know that while his peers were challenged by his complicated personality, they were also in awe of his prodigious output and inspired by his radical art making? This Look and Learn gallery walk explores van Gogh’s ambitions and inspirations. It also analyzes how van Gogh’s Starry Night inspired the poet W.D. Snodgrass and the musician Don McLean 100 years later.  

What this Look and Learn gallery walk offers.

• Analyze 23 of van Gogh’s most acclaimed paintings.
• Explore the art and artists who inspired van Gogh.
• Read excerpts from 33 letters that reveal van Gogh’s aspirations and challenges.
• Read excerpts from 18 van Gogh biographies and follow their links to an online library.
• Savor an in-depth analysis of W.D. Snodgrass’ poem The Starry Night.
• Close read the lyrics to Don McLean’s Vincent (Starry Starry Night).

Teaching Strategies

Van Gogh Timeline: Use context clues and drag the five events to their correct order on the timeline. This pre-learning device alerts the reader to key events in van Gogh’s life. Class strategy: Create five teams. Assign a box per team and have teams identify their caption.    

Van Gogh Gallery and Gallery of Inspiration: Each painting in these galleries is supported by a set of feature buttons. Most of the green “You can quote me!” features are excerpts from van Gogh’s letters and link to the “Vincent van Gogh: The Letters” database. Most of the blue “Another perspective” features are excerpts from biographies and link to the Internet Archive where the electronic book can be borrowed for an hour. Class strategy: Have students share their favorite painting and their favorite feature button.

Starry Night Analysis: Class strategy: Before accessing a button, discuss how this painting applies the elements and principles of design to an expressive effect. Then, access the corresponding button to see if additional information is provided.

Ekphrastic Poetry and Ekphrastic Music: Ekphrastic poetry is a vivid description of a work of art where the poet amplifies or expands its meaning. W. D. Snodgrass’ acclaimed poem “The Starry Night” uses found text, expressive word choice, and strategic typography to recreate the painting in a new medium. Don McLean’s chart-topping song “Vincent” (popularly referred to as Starry Starry Night) is a heartfelt tribute to Vincent van Gogh. Class strategy: Print out and analyze the poem and the song’s lyrics. Use the magnifying glass to analyze key details and consider the “Ask Yourself” questions.

Literature Links (a.k.a the Wonders of the Internet)

All of the letters referenced in the galleries link to the Van Gogh Museum’s fabulous “Vincent van Gogh: The Letters” database. Access the database and marvel at its awesome features and nimble filters.  

The Internet Archive’s mission is to provide Universal Access to All Knowledge. It is built on the idea that free and open access to public information is critical for any functioning democracy, and that every citizen should be able to seek knowledge in the public domain. All of the van Gogh biographies referenced in the galleries link to the Internet Archive’s lending library. Find an excerpt you like and keep reading the titles below.

Van Gogh Biographies and Art Guides (presented in order of appearance)

Meyer Shapiro’s Vincent van Gogh (1961)  •  David Sweetman’s Van Gogh: His Life and His Art (1990)  •  Marc Edo Tralbaut’s Vincent van Gogh (1969)  •  Irving Stone’s Lust for Life (1934)  •  Robert Wallace’s The World of Van Gogh, 1853–1890 (1969)  •  Martin Gayford’s The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Provence (2008)  •  Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegan’s Van Gogh’s Ear: The Pact  of Silence (2008)  •  Philip Callow’s Vincent van Gogh (1990)  •  Mark W. Roskill’s Van Gogh, Gauguin, and the Impressionist Circle (1970)  •  Steven Naifeh’s and Gregory White Smith’s Van Gogh: The Life (2011)  •  Jan Hulsker’s Vincent and Theo van Gogh: A Dual Biography (1990)  •  David Sweetman’s The Love of Many Things: A Life of Vincent van Gogh (1990)  •  Roelie Zwikker’s “Van Gogh’s Teachers” in Vincent’s Choice: The Musée Imaginaire of Van Gogh (2003)  •  Octave Mirbeau’s “Vincent van Gogh” in L’Echo de Paris (March 31, 1891)  •  Ingo Walther’s Vincent van Gogh: The Complete Paintings (2012)  •  B’s “Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night.’” In The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art, vol. 9, no. 2 (1941)  •  Jan Greenberg’s Vincent van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist (2003)  •  Richard Thomson’s Vincent van Gogh: The Starry Night (2008)

Artist’s Writings and Related Biographies (presented in order of appearance)

A.S. Hartnick’s memoir A Painter’s Pilgrimage Through Fifty Years (1939)  •   Alfred Sensier’s Jean-François Millet: Peasant and Painter (1881)  •  Julia Bloch Frey’s Toulouse-Lautrec: A Life (1994)  •  Paul Gauguin’s Intimate Journals (1936)  •  Paul Gauguin’s “Still Lifes” in Essais D’Art Libre (January, 1894)  •  Emile Bernard’s “Vincent van Gogh” in La Plume (September 1, 1891)  •  Emile Bernard’s Les Hommes D’Aujord’hui (1891)

Related Resources

• Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night is in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. See their website for detailed information.
• This interdisciplinary teacher’s resource offers a range of teaching moves and language for analyzing The Starry Night.
• This writing lesson uses The Starry Night to teach ekphrastic writing — includes links to related online resources.   
• Magnify this high-quality image.
• Expand your focus to other Van Gogh paintings with a wealth of Van Gogh Museum art lessons.