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

Thanks to Under Lucky Stars for sponsoring this video! Create your own star map now at www.underluckystars.com/.
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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About StarTalk:
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!

[@just2share]

And imagination, not just reality.

[@just2share]

Plus, reality is as we see it because we are humans not because it really is this way. To other conscious beings (say aliens) our existence might appear quite differently.

[@jrc1156]

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

[@JewTube001]

oh so that's art is for.

[@juanadiaz383]

Jesus novela

[@abigailgerlach5443]

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.

[@jamestickle3070]

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.

[@gyozakeynsianism]

Marc Bell should read this.

[@karphin1]

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

[@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.

[@Uncle-Cookoo]

Damn smart. Thank you for something to consider.

[@joshuanorris5860]

Nice

[@erdemmemisyazici3950]

Yea but nobody but a machine and you spent time on it. When you pay for art you are purchasing a small piece of an artist's soul.

[@deluxeassortment]

@@erdemmemisyazici3950 That's not the point. It's a cheap, easy way to get a nice piece of decoration on the wall, one that everyone talks about when they walk in. As an artist, I can appreciate the time and effort it takes to create a piece of art, but I definitely can't afford anything more than a print.

[@JoshWeeks]

Lol I don't think Van Gough would have seen much of that money, anyway.

[@johncasper8031]

A great scientist speaking about an incredible artist.

[@warrenashburnwa]

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

[@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!!! 😃😃

[@waynehanley72]

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.

[@theresemalmberg955]

Or he could have had cataracts, which also does the same thing. I have cataracts and I am an artist. My eye doctor has been pushing me to get surgery which I have declined for now. She wanted to know why and I said I see the most fascinating effects, especially at night.

[@MossyMozart]

@waynehanley72 - Fuch's Corneal Dystrophy also makes you see halos around points of light as your corneas slowly deteriorate. It's pretty until you have to drive at night, then it can be very annoying.

[@terryallen6688]

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".

[@michelemurnane2834]

I never knew that. Van Gogh actually painted the sky as it was one night. Fabulous.

[@derrallinder4338]

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.

[@c.youngberg9511]

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. . .

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

I just checked that with KStars and a moon-phase calculation script. Venus was close to the horizon at ENE, with Aries above it, but the Moon is way off to the side (the constellation between them being Pegasus), more to the south. Also its phase is slightly more than half, and waning, not a crescent, and Wikipedia confirms this with its image of the night sky at that place and time.

[@jeanrocque-rr4ec]

My favorite painting.

[@andyafk]

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

[@Randolini]

That is his best composition. I love it.

[@HiR0SHi.the.D0G]

Chuck had a really great gift with the Starry Night sky constellations 👍

[@MichaelMirraArt-mg4jx]

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

[@ErinLovegood73]

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

[@rebeccapresti9650]

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.

[@harryg5566]

That was really good

[@jasonmclaren8752]

My favorite astrophysicist and my favorite painting. MIND BLOWN

[@dominiclester3232]

Er, until you realise this video was just an excuse to plug a new sponsor!

[@hotsauce7709]

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?

[@nathalie_desrosiers]

Plus, he practically painted night and day non stop, and was drinking way too much alcohol.

[@jerrydeanswanson79]

Hey you guys. Thanks for the program. And Neil...to make you jealous...years back I found a cloisonné Tea Pot and a roll stamp dispenser...both with a Starry Night design. I'm also a fan of the art.

[@michelereay2290]

Hi My daughter & I were in France where a some artists learn to paint. I bought Starrynight painting from a street artist and it is gorgeous and hangs in my LR. 🌠

[@ChrisGorges]

The map of the sky for any given day is so cool, I love it!

[@JackgarPrime]

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

[@guslevy3506]

“I want to touch people with my art. I want them to say 'he feels deeply, he feels tenderly' “. - Vincent

[@stillkickin3919]

I'm surprised he didn't have a Van Gogh ear muff.

[@CocoMugg]

Earmuff, singular

[@peterprincic2830]

He does have a Van Gogh tie though.

[@rascallyrabbit717]

we didn't get to see his tattoos

[@Sinnbad21]

Or Van Gogh condoms

[@harrislam]

because Van Gogh ear muff only comes in singles.

[@timhensley3695]

Wow what a nice gift ❤

[@lantua]

The fact that Neil has a phone case really trips me up.

[@JudgeDredd_]

Josh B yeah I remember he went into a diatribe on why he didn’t have one on Rogan or something

[@SpaceTimeBeing_]

That's a sticker, not a case

[@gornes2403]

@@JudgeDredd_ yeah remember that, too, he claimed he got used to handling the bare phone in his hand so that he wouldn't drop it

[@ICCUWANSIUT]

gornes it’s a skin tho, not a case.

[@gyozakeynsianism]

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

[@m4r_art]

I discovered this show last month, best youtube discovery since.

[@MossyMozart]

@m4r_art - You will have many hours of joy catching up!

[@Alicia-yh6kc]

What a tragic figure Van Gogh was. Such a torturous entire life from very young childhood. And, to express so much through his art that it continues to be a subject of discussion to this day.

[@gy2gy246]

It's believed that he was manic-depressive, before such things could be diagnosed.

[@subhanusaxena7199]

The Dr Who Van Gogh episode is my favourite Dr Who episode

[@tcampo86]

Don McLean explains it all in vincent starry starry night

[@lauras1855]

The sky look like that when I’m not wearing my glasses because my eyes are awful

[@keihkomahda618]

Y ,,

[@acbenepe]

I like the theory that Van Gogh was inspired by Hokusai's "Great Wave Off Kanagawa" block print.

[@erixouther]

Man. Chuck nice is great for this format.

[@jGRite]

Starry Night < I Can't Sleep

[@deanallen927]

MY FAVORITE PAINTING.

[@Beathoven007]

A study suggested that Van Gogh saw illustrations of whirlpool galaxies at an exhibition and put them all over the place.

[@kylefer]

I about had a heart attack when the intro music bust in over Neil's beautiful soothing Bob Rossy voice as I turned the volume up.

[@jacklcooper3216]

Well done Neil.your expertise on the reality really shines

[@maxlevy9857]

That’s gotta be the best pillow I have ever seen

[@IWario1]

U forgot to mention “this video is sponsored by under Lucky star”

[@treeinafield5022]

Neil did mention it at the very beginning, though phrased differently

[@IWario1]

Oh lol I always fast forward the beginning

[@21972012145525]

gama munoz it’s in the description box as well

[@UnderLuckyStars]

This video is sponsored by us 😁

[@scottsimmons7870]

Not just sponsored by it, it was a commercial for it lol

[@prabhunet]

Art always captures the reality of the situation 👌

[@sametdemirtas6609]

the only part i don't agree is "first painting ever that was named for what was drawn in the background" part. when i look to the painting i see the starry sky as the main thing in the painting, not as the background, but the village and other things seem dark and insignificant.

[@SIRCAM73]

"When I have a terrible need of - shall I say the word - religion. Then I go out and paint the stars." -Vincent Van Gogh

[@HalkerVeil]

They're getting really good at these commercials.

[@Uncle-Cookoo]

Everything takes practice.

[@DaneliusUK]

Enjoyed it, thank you.

[@JoshWeeks]

I thought maybe a video would start after the 6 minute ad

[@todafett5865]

Wow that was a really really long ad

[@Elizabeth-yp8re]

I love that painting!

[@webbtrekker534]

Love to see an episode with you and Michio Kaku.

[@I-VisiBomb-I]

check the episode with hawking, michio is there.

[@Driven2Beers]

I swear I thought Neil was gonna say, "When you squeeze the Moon, the pillow makes a fart noise." 💨😆

[@utterlymilk]

Love these

[@archiebotten4061]

Nice to see you again Neil

[@amanandashmit]

Looks Awesome!!

[@tonywilliams429]

It’s my favorite also and I too hav it on everything.

[@HeyImSnappy]

Neil... literally 80% of the painting is of the sky...and Chuck acting like he hasn’t heard Neil explain this a hundred times already... I need a new full length cosmic queries !!

[@sohebsomani6225]

exactly what I thought.. when you look at the painting, it has eye catchy colours i.e. yellow in the sky that is supposed to grab your attention and everything else become the background so to speak.

[@3rod3reelfishing19]

I remember hearing in one of my pharmacology classes that the thought was Van Gogh used to snack on purple foxglove flowers and was actually in digitalis toxicity she he painted this 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@karinwolf3645]

I put glow in the dark stars on my ceiling in my bedroom... The constilations were all of my own invention, like Ka, the constrictor... Rocky the flying squirel... All my favourites from teen years. 😁. 💋💖💋💖😆😆🌵👵🐺🖖

[@tristans333]

I wanna be just like Neil when I grow up

[@user-eh8hw6kq8c]

😊 from what I understand he painted starry night from a dream that's why it looks the way it does.

[@FirstLast-ln3ly]

When Neil dosent give the pillow back haha

[@lindasherman7672]

OkkLll👤🗣🗣🧒🏿🧒🏿🌳🐾🐈🐉🐈🐾s

[@Anti-HyperLink]

When Chuck was talking about what he got for Neil I somehow saw him as a child and a man. That's not an insult, I mean I could... feel his timeline? I could recognize him as an aging human rather than a static adult.

[@cartercrawford7348]

awesome

[@weylguy]

Oh, I get it now! The painting has stars in it, and de Grasses Tyson is an astrophysicist! So he's an art expert!

[@RYN988]

Man Chuck Nice is so nice!!

[@craigyoung8008]

2:44 And for the rest of the video, Chuck thinks to himself: “Damn, this chair is uncomfortable!” 😂

[@MacAnswer]

6m 26s of a very elaborate ad.

[@sherrylennondewitt4102]

Life just keeps getting better

[@CasolVillas]

A true Renaissance Man Neil! Mickael Casol from Montreal!

[@MossyMozart]

I have some of those credit card covers that each have a van Gogh painting on them. ----- From seeing his paintings, especially "Starry Night", I have often wondered if he had synesthesia.

[@ndromedaGalaxy]

4:48 🌌

[@georgigeranov9778]

Doing a jigsaw puzzle of this painting. ❤

[@maxlevy9857]

I definitely Can’t sleep when I see this painting 🖼, hahaha

[@mikal]

The stars are not the background of the painting. They're the focus. The city is actually the background / area of non-focus.

[@bandanajainartist]

fun video :)

[@91wheelz]

Hey Neil! I have seen you with a miniature sized painting of Starry Night. I'd like to know where you got it! I would love to get myself one! :)

[@paineoftheworld]

AND a world class art thief? Stealing hearts.

[@Siriusly_Sirius]

Best commercial ever 🤩

[@monte21228]

Is there a star app u reccomend for looking at the night sky ?

[@oisnowy5368]

Well, that's the most beautiful advertisement I've ever seen.

[@OverlordZephyros]

Oh come on Neil!!.. At Least Hug the man! Its a great gift 😊

[@gdr1174]

I feel I was just ambushed by an advert.. 😂

[@DragonLandlord]

i loved watching the Hubble pictures being colored by the scientists.

[@PatrickBijvoet]

Dear mr deGrasse Tyson. You unfortunately as many Americans pronounce van Gogh wrong. It is with a hard G in front and at the end. But I loved your video. We Dutch are very proud of Vincent. As are the French, where he lived the second part of his life.

[@williamsohveymah5550]

Btw, there is no "up." Same thing as we are not in the center of everything. To make sense of things to us, we give it a direction.

[@SatanistSin]

I hate to ruin this for Neil, but it is very likely that this is exactly what Van Gogh saw. This is a classic hallucination caused by alcohol, in this case specifically Absinthe which at the time was cut with all sorts of other chemicals that also had some hallucinogenic effects.

[@SatanistSin]

@Joe Horn Yeah, I didn't do it three time. KZbin is broken.

[@SatanistSin]

@Joe Horn oh.

[@sherrylennondewitt4102]

I have it all in my space too :)

[@eravpl]

I don't agree the picture is named for the background. The name is "Starry night", not "Starry sky". The night (and day too) exits on Earth and other planets and moons, not in Space. If you were in a spaceship on its way to Mars, could you say it's day or night outside?

[@RoulinBrooks]

You're lucky in that the real Starry Night is close to you at the Museum of Modern Art. I'm a Van Gogh specialist in Toronto. Oh, and I have that exact same pillow, by the way.

[@thomasdearment3214]

I always thought it was his expression of the Milky Way, which you can see occasionally.

[@1234larry1]

If you were traveling in space instead of standing on Earth, you wouldn’t be looking at the “sky,” because “sky” by definition is what we frame as that which we see when looking “up” from the “ground.” It is a concept we agree upon when looking at the rest of the universe from Earth, but it is really just “everything that is not Earth.”

[@kylewkendall]

I also had glow in the dark stars on my ceiling. But i became a programmer not an astrophysicist

[@MrLBoavida]

Where can we make questions/proposals for a new video?

[@kishfoo]

I have bad eyes. On a bit of doctor O, that's how the night sky looks to me. Van Gogh was also near sighted. He might have used spectacles to paint the village.

[@gildedbear5355]

"before dawn's light" would have been a good title but "stary night" is better.

[@ZeniferJenZ]

🌌

[@MerkDolf]

Wasn't it Jack Horkeimer who use to say Keep Looking up?