Van Goe's starry night, is this a constellation he painted or just something he made up?

Answer 1

Do you mean Van Gogh? He painted the sky, not a single constellation. And it was a result of his creativity, not a reproduction of constellations. You should look at the painting for yourself. The answer would be obvious.

Answer 2

I don't *think* it's any particular identifiable constellation, but more a rendition of a night sky with some trees and such.

Why are you asking?

I have seen that painting in person. And here's the cool thing: I stumbled upon it by accident. It took my breath away--which is something that has only happened, like, three times in my life.

So, yeah, I was flitting around the MoMA looking for a friend, didn't know that "Starry Night" was at the MoMa, walked into a gallery, and--holy crap--there was that painting on the wall.

Knocked the frickin' breath out of me.

You should see it.

Answer 3

Van Gogh painted Starry, Starry Night on the Banks of the Rhone River in Arles, Provence, France during his stay there. His experiences in Provence with the intense light led to the evolution of his painting into the energy filled, bold strokes that made his work immediately recognizable. His earlier experiences in Amsterdam and Paris were of grey skies and subdued lighting. It is akin to having a blindfold over his face, then suddenly removing it to show the world in a whole new light. After October, I will be able to tell you whether he was painting a view of the southern skies of Provence.

Answer 4

The night he painted that, there was a furious thunderstorm going on, and rolling globules of ball lightning chased each other across the sky. He captured this on canvas, but because it was, at the time, a capital crime in France to aver the existence of ball lightning, he was forced to call the painting, "Starry Night," to conceal the subject matter.

Answer 5

Not so much as something he made up, but rather his impressions of a starry night sky. Like when you lay in a field of grass just star gazing and thinking about random stuff.

You also gotta remember, he was a hopeless romanic and crazy too.

Answer 6

You tell me, does it look like anything that you've ever seen in the sky?

There is your answer

And just for further reference it's Vincent Van Gogh**

Answer 7

this is cool, but not as 'breath-taking' as the real thing...hope you enjoy :)

http://www.andreaplanet.com/mosaic/starrynight/

Answer 8

made up of textured brush strokes and vibrant color!