 Van Gogh captured the colors and moods of the trees which varied dramatically by daylight and season . He began to use the color blue to represent the divine . In both The Starry Night and his olive tree paintings , Van Gogh used the intense blue of the sky to symbolize the " divine and infinite presence " of Jesus . Seeking a " modern artistic language " to represent the divine , he sought a numinous quality in many of his olive tree paintings , such as by bathing olive trees , an emblem for Jesus , in " radiant gold light " . 
