Lesson 2:
Concentration

Vincent van Gogh’s The Night Café and Edvard Munch’s Melancholy are two paintings that show deep emotions and inner feelings. These artworks connect to the idea of silence and brain states, which we’ve been exploring.

Van Gogh’s painting shows a café at night, filled with bright, harsh colors like red and green. The room feels lonely and chaotic, with empty chairs and strange angles. It’s like a picture of a busy, noisy mind—a place where thoughts and feelings swirl around, making it hard to find peace. The painting helps us see how too much stimulation can make us feel anxious or overwhelmed.

On the other hand, Munch’s Melancholy is calm and quiet. It shows a person sitting alone, lost in thought. The colors are soft, and the shapes are stretched out, creating a sense of stillness. This painting feels like a moment of deep thinking or reflection, where the mind is at rest. It’s like the “quiet brain” state, where we can let go of distractions and just be.

Together, these paintings show two sides of our inner world: one filled with noise and chaos, and the other with calm and quiet. They remind us that our minds are always moving between these states, and that silence isn’t just about being still—it’s about finding balance in our thoughts and emotions. These artworks help us understand how complex and beautiful our inner lives can be.