Starry Night Over the Rhone
| Starry Night over the Rhône | |
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| Artist | Vincent van Gogh |
| Year | 1888 |
| Catalogue | F474; JH1592 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 72.5 cm × 92 cm (28.5 in × 36.2 in) |
| Location | Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
Starry Night Over the Rhône (September 1888) is one of Vincent van Gogh's paintings of Arles at nighttime. It was painted at a spot on the bank of the Rhône River that was only a one or two-minute walk from the Yellow House on the Place Lamartine which Van Gogh was renting at the time. The night sky and the effects of light at night provided the subject for some of his more famous paintings, including Cafe Terrace at Night (painted earlier the same month) and the later canvas from Saint-Rémy, The Starry Night.
A sketch of the painting is included in a letter van Gogh sent to his friend Eugène Boch on October 2, 1888.
The painting was first exhibited in 1889 at the annual exhibition of the Société des Artistes Indépendants in Paris, together with the Irises. The latter was added by Theo, while Vincent had proposed one of his paintings from the public gardens in Arles, most probably the version now in the Phillips Collection.
The view is from the quay (a waterside street) on the east side of the Rhône, into the knee of the river towards the western shore: coming down from the north, the Rhône turns to the right at this point to surround the rocks on which Arles is built. From the towers of Saint-Julien and Saint-Trophime at the left, the spectator follows the east bank up to the iron bridge connecting Arles to the suburb of Trinquetaille on the right, western bank. This implies a view from Place Lamartine towards the southwest. 43°40′57″N 4°37′49″E / 43.682367°N 4.630287°E
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