Neil deGrasse Tyson on Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'

Neil deGrasse Tyson loves himself some Vincent van Gogh. Specifically his painting "Starry Night." Neil shows off his fandom of Starry Night and tells us why he loves the painting so much, including why the title "Starry Night" is so important and how van Gogh invoked emotion by painting how reality felt instead of how reality was at the time. Neil also talks about how we are able to know when and where it was actually painted. And that’s when Chuck Nice brings out his special Starry Night surprise for Neil!

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Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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[august_astrom]

"Art captures the emotion of reality."
He gets it! This guy really does know everything!

[jrc]

"art at its best captures the emotion of the reality rather than the reality."

[jamestickle]

I’ve read that Van Gogh was actually an astronomy fan and read astronomy magazines. There was actually a popular astronomy magazine at the time that was available at the asylum where he was staying that had one of Camille Flamarrion’s sketches of the Whirlpool Galaxy. He could have easily seen that sketch and incorporated the Whirlpool in his painting.

[abigailgerlach]

What I like about Starry Night is the feeling of vastness of space. Van Gogh really knew how to translate the feeling of infinite possibility if we could open our minds far enough. It's why he was a genius and why he was a little bit crazy.

[deluxeassortment]

I took a $20 Starry Night shower curtain and stretched it onto a five foot canvas, so I have an enormous Van Gough on my living room wall. I did the same with a $30 Marilyn Monroe photo on my other wall. They both get a lot of attention. I spent maybe $15 on some 1"x1" wood and a white bed sheet to make a canvas with a cross support. Just need screws, staples, and patience. An inexpensive piece of art the same size might cost hundreds of dollars.

[miixfixxgarage]

I really enjoy watching these brothers converse on their various intellectual journeys. And a gift to boot!! They're both genuine and down to earth!!! 😃😃

[johncasper]

A great scientist speaking about an incredible artist.

[karphin]

Neil gets Art! That is wonderful! The Starry night is a thoughtful gift!

[waynehanley]

One explanation of Van Gogh's halos around the stars is that he suffered from lead poisoning, which affects vision and creates the illusion of auras around objects.

[andyafk]

the phrase made me listen to Don McLean - Vincent ( Starry, Starry Night) again

[c.youngberg]

Ok, so I used the Celestron SkyPortal app to take a look at the actual sky this was painted after. Even changed the Date to mid June 1889, and viewing location to Southern France. Not only is Starry Night spot on, but just realized the constellation Aries is smack dab in the middle, between the Crescent moon and Venus. That constellation at that time of day & year starts lower left, travels up to the right, then curls downward. Similar to the curl and twist as the painted "Swirl" in the middle of Van Gough's painting. I got a feeling this isn't a coincidence. . .

[terryallen]

As an artist, a painting is designed or meant to draw ones eyes to what is most important or central to the subject of the painting, thus "starry nights".

[rebeccapresti]

Actually, Van Gogh might have seen the sky that way, since it was the practice of artists to wet their brushes on their lips/tongues to mix paints high in lead at the time. This could account for the tracery and fuzziness to him of stars, since the lights would seem to vibrate and flow..
It is my most favorite of his work.

[warrenashburnwa]

3:34 "or he could have called it, I CANT SLEEP!!" 😂😂😂

[hotsauce]

It has been suggested that there might be another explanation for the swirls around the stars in Starry Night. In Van Gogh's time they couldn't go to the local art store and buy their paint. So...they made their own. White paint back then used lead instead of titanium dioxide as the pigment. It, of course, is highly toxic and in his time they had no real knowledge or understanding of these things. One of the symptoms of lead poisoning is that it can give victims halo vision and even mental disorders. Not saying that was the case. Just kinda makes you think. Breathing the lead oxide dust over years of making your paint could have had a long term effect. We know about lead paint chips and kids. It tastes sweet. Romans used it to sweeten their wine. Van Gogh may have licked his fingers while grinding the pigment to make his paint. Or just breathed the dust. But wouldn't that put an interesting twist on those crazy stars?

[derrallinder]

I love Under Lucky Stars. I got one for when I met my wife and for our wedding. Brother, both were no doubt about it homeruns.

[ErinLovegood]

Starry Night is also my favorite painting. It's so beautiful.

[JackgarPrime]

That was a fantastic gift from Chuck! Now Neil can have both the emotional reality and the physical reality side-by-side!

[gyozakeynsianism]

He could have called it, "I Can't Sleep."

[MichaelMirraArt-mgjx]

I like what Dr. Tyson said about art. I agree. It says something that YouTube is so full of hyper realistic art.