Starry Night Over the Rhône - Vincent van Gogh, 1888

The Story Behind

Painted in Arles in September 1888, Starry Night Over the Rhône captures Vincent van Gogh’s deep emotional response to the night sky—this time not from a mountaintop, but just steps from his rented home, near the banks of the Rhône River.

Unlike the more turbulent The Starry Night, this work is a serene, dreamlike meditation on light, reflection, and love. The sky glows with bright stars, each surrounded by a halo of gasping brushstrokes, while the city lights of Arles shimmer across the rippling water. Two lovers stroll along the riverbank, adding a quiet human tenderness to the vast celestial scene.

In a letter to his brother Theo, Van Gogh wrote:

"It often seems to me that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day."

This painting is his testament to that belief. Importantly, he painted it outdoors—en plein air—at night, something extremely rare at the time. It was a technical and emotional challenge, but also an artistic breakthrough. He deliberately avoided using black, relying instead on deep blues, greens, and golden yellows to convey the rich color and subtle movement of the scene.

It’s a painting about connection—between earth and sky, people and place, loneliness and love. It reminds us that beauty doesn’t shout; it glows.