Where Is Starry Night Over the Rhône? Museum Location

Q: Where can I see Starry Night Over the Rhône?

It's at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Van Gogh painted it in September 1888 in Arles, about nine months before his more famous The Starry Night. Don't confuse the two: they're different paintings in different museums.

Q: What is depicted in this painting?

Van Gogh painted the night sky reflected on the Rhône river at Arles, with gas lamps along the quay casting golden light on the water. Two figures walk along the riverbank in the foreground. The Big Dipper constellation (Ursa Major) is visible in the sky above.

Q: How does this differ from The Starry Night?

This one is painted from direct observation, not memory or imagination. Van Gogh set up his easel along the river at night with candles on his hat for light. The style is more naturalistic than The Starry Night's swirling, expressionistic sky. It's a real scene of a real place at a specific moment.

Q: What style is this painting?

It's Post-Impressionist. Van Gogh was fascinated by painting night scenes and the challenge of capturing color in darkness. He wrote to his brother Theo that the night was 'much more alive and richly colored than the day,' and this painting proves his point.

Q: How big is Starry Night Over the Rhône?

The canvas measures 72.5 cm × 92 cm (28.5 × 36.2 inches). Van Gogh painted it during his most productive period in Arles, where he completed over 200 paintings in about 15 months. The deep blues and golden yellows show his mastery of complementary color contrasts.

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.

It's at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Van Gogh painted it in September 1888 in Arles, about nine months before his more famous The Starry Night. Don't confuse the two: they're different paintings in different museums.

Van Gogh painted the night sky reflected on the Rhône river at Arles, with gas lamps along the quay casting golden light on the water. Two figures walk along the riverbank in the foreground. The Big Dipper constellation (Ursa Major) is visible in the sky above.

This one is painted from direct observation, not memory or imagination. Van Gogh set up his easel along the river at night with candles on his hat for light. The style is more naturalistic than The Starry Night's swirling, expressionistic sky. It's a real scene of a real place at a specific moment.

It's Post-Impressionist. Van Gogh was fascinated by painting night scenes and the challenge of capturing color in darkness. He wrote to his brother Theo that the night was 'much more alive and richly colored than the day,' and this painting proves his point.

The canvas measures 72.5 cm × 92 cm (28.5 × 36.2 inches). Van Gogh painted it during his most productive period in Arles, where he completed over 200 paintings in about 15 months. The deep blues and golden yellows show his mastery of complementary color contrasts.

Starry Night Over the Rhône

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Vincent van Gogh

“Au Charbonnage” Café

A Zandmennik house

The Goat Herd

Old Woman Asleep after Rops

Also at Musée d'Orsay

Lola de Valence

A Country Brasserie, Brannenburg, Bavaria

Man smoking a pipe

River's Edge The Siene at Herblay

Related Post-Impressionism Works

When Will You Marry?

The Yellow Christ

The Basket of Apples

The Card Players

Moulin Rouge: La Goulue

Still Life with Apples

Jane Avril

Arearea (Joyousness)

About Starry Night Over the Rhône

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