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Credit & Copyright: Yale
University Art Gallery -
Text: Letty Bonnell
Explanation:
A
dramatic nocturnal landscape from around 1850,
this oil painting is the work of
French artist
Jean-Francois Millet.
In the dark and atmospheric night sky are shooting stars,
known too as meteors, above a
landscape showing a path through the faintly lit countryside that leads
toward trees and a cart in silhouette on the horizon.
Millet was raised in a farming family in Normandy and is known for
his paintings of rural scenes and peasant life.
This Starry Night was painted after the artist
moved to Barbizon, about 30 kilometers southeast of any 19th century
light pollution
from Paris.
Millet wrote to his brother at this time,
"If only you knew how beautiful the night is ... the calm and grandeur
of it are so awesome that I find that I actually feel overwhelmed."
Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh was an admirer of Millet's work, and later
also painted two dramatic
starry nights.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: night sky
Publications with words: night sky
See also: