Van Gogh, Starry Night Over the Rhone, 1888
On the subjecy off Van Gogh letters, see my post Who will Have an Ear to Hear It? In 1888 Van Gogh wrote two letters, he included a sketch in each, describing his latest masterpiece to his brother Theo and his friend Eugene Boch.
To Theo from Arles, September 1888: “Included herewith little croquis of a square no. 30 canvas — the starry sky at last, actually painted at night, under a gas-lamp. The sky is green-blue, the water is royal blue, the fields are mauve. The town is blue and violet. The gaslight is yellow, and its reflections are red gold and go right down to green bronze. Against the green-blue field of the sky the Great Bear has a green and pink sparkle whose discreet paleness contrasts with the harsh gold of the gaslight. Two small coloured figures of lovers in the foreground.”
To Eugène Boch from Arles, October 1888: “[A] study of the Rhône, of the town under gaslight and reflected in the blue river. With the starry sky above — with the Great Bear — with a pink and green sparkle on the cobalt blue field of the night sky, while the light of the town and its harsh reflections are of a red gold and a green tinged with bronze. Painted at night.”
Van Gogh writes about “the Great Bear — with a pink and green sparkle” in both letters, that’s the star constellation.
- Further Reading:
- Claim – Van Gogh’s ear ‘cut off by Gauguin’
- Van Gogh – Who will Have an Ear to Hear It?
- Van Gogh Letters Set a New Standard for Online Manuscript Publishing
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