What type of art is starry night by Vincent van gogh?

Van Gogh was struggling, as all artists do, with a particular area of artistic achievement. In this case, he was trying to capture a simplicity, a power, and perhaps a message, from the natural world. This is something he perceived within the scene of that starry night reflecting in the river, and he wished to make it plain for others to see, as well. He was applying "the end justifies the means," and if that meant a simplistic, surrealistic, even garish piece of art work, it didn't matter as long as his message was conveyed successfully.