Van Gogh Starry Night over the Rhone Stained Glass 14.25H

Arles After Dark, Lit from Behind: Starry Night over the Rhone Stained Glass

Vincent van Gogh carried his easel to the quay at Arles. He painted the night as he saw it, by gaslight. This Starry Night over the Rhone stained glass panel lets that glow shine through. Stars hang above the river, and the lamps burn below.

Van Gogh painted the scene in September 1888, working outdoors after dark. He wrote to his brother Theo of blue and violet for the town and gold for the gas. Their reflections run down into the water.

A couple walks in the foreground, and the Big Dipper shines above. This Van Gogh Arles painting is now in the Musee d'Orsay. It is a calmer, observed cousin of his imagined Starry Night of 1889.

Blue Against Orange, Light Against Dark

Van Gogh believed night held richer color than day. He set deep blue against orange gaslight, a complementary contrast he loved. This Post-Impressionist stained glass panel suits that idea, since stars and flames are points of light.

Glass lets the contrast glow instead of merely sit on a surface. Vincent van Gogh stained glass can show what paint only suggests. Every Van Gogh Arles painting trusts color above all, and Starry Night over the Rhone stained glass proves it. See more in our Van Gogh Collection.

Product Details

• Design source: Starry Night over the Rhone, Vincent van Gogh, Arles, 1888
• Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
• Material: Kiln-fired glass
• Size: 14.25 in x 9.25 in

Display Notes

Glass depends on light for its full effect. Set the panel where daylight or a lamp can pass through it. Starry Night over the Rhone stained glass looks richest with the sun behind it, as Post-Impressionist stained glass should.

Vincent van Gogh in Brief

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a Dutch painter who worked as an artist for only about ten years. He lived in Paris and then Arles, where he found a new brightness of color. His thick brushwork and intense hues made him a founding figure of Post-Impressionism. Every Vincent van Gogh stained glass design asks us to see his night skies as he did.

For More Reading

• Van Gogh Museum
• Musee d'Orsay