LEGO Ideas 21333 The Starry Night revealed

The next LEGO Ideas set is officially 21333 The Starry Night, a recreation of Vincent van Gogh’s iconic artwork based on a concept by fan designer Truman Cheng.

Unveiled today by the LEGO Group, the 2,316-piece set recreates one of van Gogh’s most memorable paintings, which the artist applied to canvas during his 12-month stay at the Monastery of Saint-Paul de Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy, France, following the nervous breakdown in which he removed his own left ear.

The finished model takes 25-year-old Cheng’s submission – which originally got the green light in February 2021, as part of the second 2020 LEGO Ideas review – and upgrades it with printed parts and a solid black frame. It also includes a minifigure of its artist, as per the original concept, along with an easel and a tiny rendition of The Starry Night on a printed modified tile.

“It was a good brain tease to come up with tricks and techniques to capture the look of the original painting,” Cheng said. “The brushwork goes in many directions in the moon and the swirling cloud, so there was some creative use of bracket and clip elements involved.”

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“What makes The Starry Night so irresistible is the expressive brush work and vibrant colours used throughout, which tell the story of humanity’s everlasting dream for better things,” added the LEGO Group’s Head of Global Marketing Federico Begher. “Truman’s design was a masterpiece in itself – showing how many different LEGO elements and techniques could be used to replicate van Gogh’s iconic painting.

“At the LEGO Group, we want to inspire the world to get creative, so we’re incredibly proud to have brought this set to life in partnership with such an iconic institution as MoMA, allowing fans to be artistic with bricks, and to create and display their own masterpiece.”

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, where the real-life painting hangs, also had a hand in bringing the finished set to life – hence the MoMA branding on the box. Whether that’s a one-off partnership or we’ll see more sets developed in conjunction with the museum remains to be seen, but at least one MoMA product is rumoured to be on the way this summer.

“At MoMA, we celebrate the opportunity to connect art and audiences, and are thrilled to be part of a new way to experience van Gogh’s work, and to inspire the creative impulse in people of all ages,” added Sarah Suzuki, Associate Director at The Museum of Modern Art.

21333 The Starry Night will be available exclusively for VIPs and MoMA members from May 25, before a wider launch on June 1, for £149.99 / $169.99 / €169.99. Check out our early review of the LEGO artwork by clicking here.

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Author Profile

Chris Wharfe
I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

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