Visio Divina script for Van Gogh’s The Starry Night
Prepare yourself in a comfortable position for this Visio Divina. Make sure that you have clear image of the painting whether it be digital or in print.
Gaze at the image with gentle eyes. What impression or feelings do you get from this painting? What stands out for you? Look at the pictures within the picture: the dark cypress tree on the left … the buildings in the village, particularly the church … the hills beyond the village … the heavenly bodies in the sky…the swirls of blue behind.
Let’s listen to this Gospel passage in relation to the painting. It is taken from the 28th Chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, verses 19 and 20.:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
How does the passage connect with the art for you? Let’s re-read the passage again while gazing at the painting. Imagine yourself in the scene. …Where are you? …What are you doing? … What are you looking at? … How do you feel? … Rest in the image for a while, abiding in God’s presence.
Let’s look at some of the insights about this painting. [If you are in a group, the facilitator gives their interpretation of these ideas. If you are conducting this alone, slowly read these ideas.]
Van Gogh painted this canvas in 1889 in St. Remy in southern France. Although his aspirations to be a Christian minister were never realized, he remained deeply spiritual. While this painting was never intended for display in a Church, we can still detect Christian symbolism. The painting today is in New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. When you see it through the crowds, its vibrancy seems to cause it to leap out at you. But now let’s look at the canvas in more detail.
The Cypress tree on the left is a common sight in graveyards in southern Europe. It is a symbol of the sacred, particularly in the way that Van Gogh painted it. The brush strokes remind us of fire, perhaps the burning bush in the story of Moses. It’s an announcement that this landscape is an encounter with the sacred. Furthermore, this Cypress tree is pointing upward, to the heavens. It is a signpost that we need to be attentive to God’s glory.
The spire of the church in the village is an echo of this natural call to look to beauty. This style of church is less in the style of St. Remy but more in the style of the Netherlands of his childhood. The impossible and slightly askew steeple also points to the heavens. That is the role of catechists to attempt to fulfill the Great Commission we read in Matthew’s Gospel. Our lives, like, the cypress and the steeple, are to point to the beauty of faith.
The church is set in a sleepy village with a few houses that have lights on. Isn’t that a lot like our spiritual condition; in need of wakening and to go gaze upon the beauty and glory of God. The first rule of spirituality is not wake up and pay attention. Our faith is light in the dark spaces of the world.
The heavens themselves are dancing! The stars, and the moon are caught up in the swirling dynamic beauty of the heavens. This is an impression of God’s glory and joy and we are asked to awaken to this grace.
But if we step back from the religious meaning of the painting, we see a nighttime landscape of a village under the stars. When we look at the painting with the lens of faith it becomes prayer. The difference is in the seeing. When we look at the everyday scenes of our lives through the lens of faith, we are praying with our eyes. Visio Divina such as this helps us to see our world with sacred eyes.
Gaze at the whole painting, just resting in its presence. Let the painting flow into you. What is God saying to you through this artwork? … How do you reply? What insights do you want to take with you?
How does this painting help us to imitate Christ? How does this encounter with Starry Night help us on our Christian journey?
