The Starry Night Line by Vincent Van Gogh - Musée d'Orsay

The Starry Night Line by Vincent Van Gogh - Musée d'Orsay

Starry Night, the emblematic masterpiece by Vincent van Gogh housed at the Musée d'Orsay, represents the culmination of a fascinating artistic quest. Painted in 1888, this oil on canvas of imposing dimensions (73 x 92 cm) masterfully captures the nocturnal vision of the Rhône in Arles, where the artist lived at the time.

In this major work of post-impressionism, Van Gogh transcends the simple representation of reality to offer us a personal and poetic interpretation of the night sky. The reflections of the city lights on the waters of the river and the twinkling stars bear witness to his exceptional mastery of colour and his ability to translate the intensity of his emotions onto canvas.

A line of accessories...

Vincent Van Gogh, The Starry Night (1888). Oil on canvas H. 73.0 ; L. 92.0 cm. RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d'Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

From the moment he moved to Arles in 1888, Vincent Van Gogh embarked on a singular artistic quest: the pictorial representation of 'night effects'. In April 1888, he wrote to his brother Theo: 'I need a starry night with cypress trees or, perhaps, above a field of ripe wheat'. But it was to the painter Émile Bernard that he confided, 'But when will I do the starry sky, this painting that always preoccupies me?'.

He first painted a patch of night sky in La terrasse d'un café sur la place du forum in Arles (Otterlo, Rijksmuseum Kröller-Muller). Then this view of the Rhône, in which he magnificently transcribed the colours he perceived in the darkness. Blues dominate: Prussian, ultramarine and cobalt. The city's gaslights glow an intense orange and are reflected in the water. The stars sparkle like precious stones. The presence of a couple of lovers at the bottom of the canvas reinforces the serene atmosphere of the painting in the Musée d'Orsay.

A few months later, when he had just been interned, Van Gogh painted another version of the same subject: Starry Sky (New York, MoMA), in which all the violence of his troubled psychology is expressed. The trees take the form of flames, while the sky and stars swirl in a cosmic vision.

" I wanted to express something of nature, but in a more intense way. When I paint the stars, I don't just want to show points of light, but rather try to capture the light that emanates from them. " Vincent Van Gogh

... And jewellery

Les Néréides set x Musée d'Orsay

Les Néréides unveils an exclusive collaboration with the Musée d'Orsay and the GrandPalaisRmn.

Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting is brought to life here on a delicate set of jewellery in the colours of the midnight-blue waters of the Rhône. The golden touches here and there represent the reflections of light, interpreting the painting in a symbolic rather than figurative way. These are not jewels, they are invitations to dream.

Vincent van Gogh, Portrait of the Artist (1889); Oil on canvas, H. 65.0; W. 54.2 cm. © Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt
Did you know ?
Unlike most artists of his time, who used fairly traditional colors, Van Gogh stood out for his bold choices. In his early paintings, he used dark colors, often dominated by shades of brown and earth tones. However, after his stay in Paris, where he met Impressionists such as Monet, he began to adopt brighter, more saturated colors, which he applied with distinctive, expressive brushstrokes.

Where is The Starry Night on display?

Vincent van Gogh's painting The Starry Night (1888) is on permanent display in Paris, as part of the Musée d'Orsay's collection. This iconic work is on display in Gallery 36, located on the fifth floor of the museum, alongside other Post-Impressionist masterpieces.

Who painted The Starry Night?

The famous painting The Starry Night was painted by the Dutch Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh.

Where did Van Gogh paint The Starry Night?

Vincent van Gogh painted this masterpiece in September 1888 in Arles, setting up his easel right on the banks of the Rhône, just a few minutes from the Yellow House where he was living. This strategic vantage point allowed him to capture the reflections of the city's gaslights on the water while gazing at the starry sky to the southwest.