Sadly, it wasn't only those who heard about Van Gogh cutting off his ear who thought the painter was insane. Art critics at the time, those who had a big say in making and breaking the careers of artists, were also convinced that Van Gogh's signature style, characterized by bright and heavy brushstrokes, was sloppy, crude and childish--evidence that the artist was crazy and not as good as the more photographic and realistic paintings done by some of his contemporaries. While other painters working in the mid-nineteenth century were mostly interested in painting landscapes and portraits that looked like photographs, Van Gogh used his exaggerated and expressive brushstrokes to visualize the way he felt inside and reveal his personal impressions of whatever subject he happened to paint. While paintings like Starry Night were obviously far ahead of their time and paved the way for Expressionism, one of the big artistic movements of the early twentieth century, the art of Van Gogh was largely unappreciated during his own life and in his own society. The feelings of isolation Van Gogh must have experienced as a struggling and unappreciated artist before and after he entered the asylum are visible in Starry Night and literally color the overall meaning of the painting.