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Exploration Document
Jennifer Williams
Southern New Hampshire University
HUM200: Applied Humanities
Douglas Cunningham
November 17, 2023
1
Exploration Document
Cultural Artifacts
The first artifact I have chosen is "Starry Nights" by Vincent Van Gogh. This is a 2′ 5″ × 3′ 0.25″
painting that was painted in 1889. Vincent Van Gogh used oil paints to create this piece. The
painting is currently located in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The second artifact I
have chosen is "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo Da Vinci. This is a 2′ 6″ × 1′ 9″ painting that was
painted in 1503 and completed in 1517. Leonardo Da Vinci used Oil paints for this piece. The
painting is currently located in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Common Theme
The common theme expressed in both "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh and "Mona Lisa" by
Leonardo Da Vinci is that both painters are full of emotions. The "Starry Night" was painted
while Vincent Van Gogh was in a mental hospital due to having a breakdown. The painting
represents his view from his hospital window and all the memories and emotions he was feeling
like death and what will the after life be like. The "Mona Lisa" was a painting that her husband
commissioned to be painted of his wife. This was a time that Mona Lisa was full of emotion as
well. She just had their son and moved into a new home but the sad feeling is the loss off their
child three years prior that she still mourns.
Personal Experience
The theme identified in both painting is emotions. The "Starry Night" represents mourning and
death and "The Mona Lisa" represents happiness and peace after loss.
We all can agree that
everyone has emotions. I have had many happy times in my life with getting married, the birth of
my children, buying my first house, and being the first in my whole family getting my associates
2
degree. Along with happy emotions there are also sad ones. For me it was the death of my
mother and my divorce. Both paintings have emotions.
Profession
A profession or work situations that fits the theme of the "Starry Night" and "The Mona Lisa"
would be foster care. Foster care can have so many emotions. There is lots of sadness having to
leave your family and having to go live with another family you don't know. This can put you
there because of so many reasons like death, incarceration, drugs, etc... There are also happy
emotions with foster care like being able to learn and grow or your family getting the help they
need and you get to go back to them.
Humanities Resources
The first resource I chose was Leonardo da Vinci's
Mona Lisa
by the
Author James C. Harris,
MD. I chose this because it describes the Mono Lisa painting and the whole background story.
The second source I chose was Creativity and chronic disease Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) by
Author: Paul Wolf.
This source gives a really good description of the mental illness Vincent Van
Gogh suffered and how you can see that through his work. The third resource I chose was The
Starry Night Takes Center Stage in 'Van Gogh's Cypresses' at The Met by the Author Peggy
Carouthers.
This resource gives a good description of Vincent Van Gogh and his work and also
explains in detail the painting "The Starry Night".
Historical Context
The historical context of the "Starry Night" was painted by Vincent Van Gogh in 1889 when he
was in the Saint Paul asylum. He completed this painting 13 months before his death. The
painting was done from the window in the room he resided in at the institution. "Evidence
suggests that he had manic depression, a chronic mental illness thought affects many creative
3
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people." (Wolf, 2001). The historical context of "The Mona Lisa" was painted by Leonardo Da
Vinci on a balcony in Florance around 1500-1508. "The painting is known as
Mona Lisa
based
on Giorgio Vasari's biography of da Vinci. Vasari identified the subject as Monna Lisa del
Giocondo. Whether or not she was the model, Leonardo kept the painting with him and
continued to work on it after he left Florence in 1506." (James C. Harris, 2013). It was asked to
be painted by Mona Lisa Giaconda's husband as a gift. It took several years to complete the
painting which explains why there were so many cracks in it.
Similarities and Differences
The most obvious difference is "The Mona Lisa" is a painting of a portrait and the "Starry Night"
is a painting of a landscape. Another difference is the paintings were painting in to totally
different times. "The Mona Lisa" was painted in the Renaissance era in the 1500's and the
"Starry Night" was painted in 1889 during the Post-impressionism period. The last thing is "The
Mona Lisa" was painted on wood and the "Starry Night" was painted on a canvas. Similarities
between both paintings are the emotions behind the painting which was death, loss, mourning.
Even though "The Mona Lisa" painting was painting due to her son being born and a purchase of
a new house she also mourned the loss of her daughter that died there years before this. The
painting "Starry Night" was painted because of Vincent Van Gogh interest in death and the
afterlife. Another similarity is that both paintings were painted with oil paints.
Medium
The painting "Starry Night" was painted from his window at the institution where he overlooked
the landscape. The painting "The Mona Lisa" was paid by her husband to have Da Vinci paint. It
took about 4 years for him to finish the painting. This explains the cracking on the surface of the
painting.
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Thesis Statement
Both paintings "The Mona Lisa" and "Starry Night" were paintings created with oil paints and
are full of emotions surrounding death and mourning.
Audience
The ideal audience for my presentation would really be anyone interested in art and wanting to
learn more about these paintings. I hope that my presentation educates them on the meaning and
history of each painting.
Message
Looking at my presentation I would adjust it for my audience on their experience and
understanding of artwork. Lets say we have someone who just started learning about art. I would
make sure my presentation is easy to understand by using lingo for beginners. I would rewrite
my information based on the questions my audience has so they have more information they can
understand. I want my audience to be anyone who is interested in art but I also want it to be to
explain in a way that even beginners can understand and hopefully become more interested.
5
References
James C. Harris, M. (2013, June 1).
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa
. JAMA Psychiatry.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/1695571
Wolf, P. (2001, November).
Creativity and chronic disease. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
. The
Western journal of medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071623/
About the Author Peggy Carouthers Peggy Carouthers is a writer. (n.d.).
A brief history of van
gogh’s “Starry night.”
Art & Object. https://www.artandobject.com/news/starry-night-
takes-center-stage-van-goghs-cypresses-met
6
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