Starry Night Over the Rhône

Vincent van Gogh painted the Starry Night Over the Rhône in September 1888, a few months after arriving in Arles. His rented Yellow House stood just minutes from this spot on the riverbank. Gas lamps from the town reflect in long golden streaks on the blue water while stars glitter overhead.

Van Gogh had been "constantly preoccupied with the representation of night effects" since reaching Arles. In letters he described a dream of painting the starry sky over a field of wheat. This painting was his first major attempt. A year later, confined to an asylum, he would paint the more turbulent Starry Night now at MoMA.

The Rhône version feels calmer. Two figures stroll along the shore in the foreground, adding a human scale to the cosmic scene. The painting measures 73 by 92 centimeters and hangs at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. It was first exhibited at the 1889 Salon des Indépendants.