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The Starry Night [1] (1889), by Vincent van Gogh

Museum of Modern Art, New York NY, United States

"Van Gogh’s painting Starry Night (1889), is one of his most iconic. Leading up to this point, Van Gogh had been suffering from mental health issues, so much so that it led to him cutting off his left ear. After this incident, in 1888 he was admitted to the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence to recover. The view that we see in Starry Night is actually inspired by the view that Van Gogh saw from his bedroom in the asylum. The swirling blues of the moonlit night sky have become synonymous with the artist’s style and the emotional quality of his use of color."