Of all the works of art I’ve seen at MOMA, van Gogh’s Starry Night has impacted me the most vividly. The first time I visited MOMA, I entered the hall where the work hangs. There was a wall facing me, and behind the wall I could hear a huge crowd of people talking excitedly. I said to my friend, “I bet Starry Night is on the other side of that wall.” I was just talking out of my hat, but sure enough, there it was!
I waited for my turn to step front and center, gazed into the sky, and felt my head start to whirl as I tumbled into the galaxy. The painting opened up a doorway into endless time and space, I felt the ground drop from under me, and I was flying. I experienced a wordless sense of the mystery of the universe. I am certain this is what van Gogh felt as he painted.
I go back to see this painting every time I visit MOMA, and feel that lurch in my solar plexus every time.
I also grew to love Portrait of Joseph Roulin, which used to hang as a companion nearby. I was moved by the story of this man being van Gogh’s only friend in Arles, which brought meaning to the work and helped me feel the love in the painting. The other townfolk rejected van Gogh, and I felt the pain he must have felt as an outcast, and the warmth of friendship he shared with Roulin and his family. Plea to MOMA: Please bring the Postmaster back to hang near Starry Night!
Both were painted in 1889, and you can see the similarity in style, with the movement in the curled brush strokes.
What is your favorite work of art at MOMA? Please comment and share what has moved you at MOMA.