Vincent Van Gogh's paintings are characterized by a thick, textured application of paint in intense colors. His painting style was an outgrowth of Impressionism, a style that emphasized capturing everyday scenes using loose brushwork and bright colors. Van Gogh exaggerated the colors and brushmarks of the Impressionists and created a style that would influence the later Expressionist painters. This image shows a small town beneath a night sky full of stars, but the painter's expressive brush strokes and choice of passionate yellows and blues transforms this painting from a simple landscape to a portrait of Van Gogh's turbulent emotional state.