The Starry Night Distinctively Visual Analysis

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English Essay Intro The distinctively visual quality lies in the capacity to ignite a powerful response. Through the use of distinctively visual languages and images, composers effectively communicate their ideas and concepts eliciting both positive and negative responses in their audiences. Through the study of the prose fiction novel 'Maestro', by Peter Goldsworthy and Van Gogh's painting 'The Starry Night'; it is evident that distinctively visual texts have the power to provoke reactions from responders. Goldsworthy represents his ideas through Paul, the narrator, and his journey through adolescence and the power of sensuality. The distinctively visual qualities of the novel are created through setting and emotion using descriptive and emotive language. Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' exhibits the…show more content…
The painting ignites many emotional responses in each individual viewer as a result of his unique, distinctively visual qualities. Commanding the left side of the painting is the flame-like shape of a huge cypress tree, an ancient symbol of death. Van Gogh has placed this tree over the top of the dramatic, celestial sky. This symbol of death overrules a large proportion of the painting, eliciting powerful emotions in the viewer as they are connected to thoughts of death. This is further enhanced by the use of serpentine, uneasy brush strokes of the tree. Van Gogh's distinctively visual brush stroke techniques are used in versatile ways. Compared to the cypress tree, the town is painted with short strokes and is relatively quiet which reveals his isolation from the world, the fact that he painted “Starry Night' from the room of an asylum gives further indication to the responder of his melancholy, anxious life. Although the viewer may not know what Van Gogh was thinking, the distinctively visual painting provokes a powerful reaction that will affect the viewer in different
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