Van Gogh and the Stars
A cosmic journey through 165 works by over 76 artists!
This summer, the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles had the honor to present Van Gogh’s famous “cosmic poem” Starry Night over the Rhône (from 1st June until 26 August), one of the masterpieces in the collection of the Musée d’Orsay.
The return of this painting just a few metres from where it was made, offered an opportunity to produce an exhibition that sheds new light on both the sources the artist drew on to create it and its enormous influence.
Through a variety of scientific, historical, and poetic approaches, the work of past and present artists will shed new light on Van Gogh’s work, highlighting its legacy and unshakeable strength.
Curated by Jean de Loisy and Bice Curiger, the exhibition Van Gogh and the Stars will highlight the erudite work and research carried out by Vincent van Gogh throughout his life, driven by his inner vision, his torments, his acute sense of observation, but also by his environment. The unique literary and scientific climate that developed in the second half of the nineteenth century will also be presented to the public, through an exhibition of the research that fascinated the public at the time, as well as the work of the great scientific illustrators such as Étienne Léopold Trouvelot and Lord Ross.
The influence of this nocturnal scene has been considerable, as shown in the work of subsequent artists such as Edvard Munch, Kasimir Malevitch, Georgia O’Keeffe, Helen Frankenthaler and other major figures who are featured in the exhibition. A fascination with the night has persisted in contemporary art, where it has taken different forms. Works by Tony Cragg, Alicja Kwade, Anselm Kiefer, Dove Allouche, Yves Klein, Lee Bontecou, and others will also be included in this journey to the stars undertaken thanks to the return of Starry Night to the banks of the river that inspired it…
From June 1 to the 26th of August 2024, Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night over the Rhône was presented for the very first time in Arles since its creation.
This masterpiece is on exceptional loan from Musée d’Orsay as part of the national event Impressionism’s 150th birthday initiated by the French Ministry of Culture and Musée d’Orsay.
With works from the artists:
Juliette Agnel – Jean-Michel Alberola – Dove Allouche – Jean-Marie Appriou – Giacomo Balla – Anna-Eva Bergman – Lee Bontecou – Djabril Boukhenaïssi – Antoine Bourdelle – Charbel-joseph H. Boutros – Victor Brauner – Gillian Brett – Frédéric Bruly Bouabré – Carlo Carrà – Frédéric-Auguste Cazals – Maurice Chabas – Jean Chacornac – Gaëlle Choisne – Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis – Lucien Clergue – Caroline Corbasson – Camille Corot – Tony Cragg – Gustave Doré – James Ensor – Félicie d’Estienne d’Orves – Hippolyte Fizeau – Camille Flammarion – Robert Fludd – Lucio Fontana – Léon Foucault – Helen Frankenthaler – Gloria Friedmann – Akseli Gallen-Kallela – Augusto Giacometti – Jean-Jacques Grandville – Wenzel Hablik – Thomas Houseago – Victor Hugo – Louise Janin – Eugène Jansson – Vassily Kandinsky – Anish Kapoor – Anselm Kiefer – Paul Klee – Yves Klein – Ivan Klioune – František Kupka – Alicja Kwade – Bertrand Lavier – Kasimir Malevitch – Arturo Martini – Charles Marville – Paul Mignard – Jean-François Millet – Adolphe Monticelli – Mariko Mori – Edvard Munch – Georgia O’Keeffe – Meret Oppenheim – Lioubov Popova – Enrico Prampolini – Ferdinand Quénisset – Odilon Redon – Evariste Richer – Lord Rosse – Raymond Roussel – Warren De La Rue – Franck Scruti – Alexandre Séon – SMITH – Léon Spilliaert – August Strindberg – Bruno Taut – Daniel Tremblay – Étienne Léopold Trouvelot – Frederic Watts
& Vincent van Gogh
Image gallery
VINCENT VAN GOGH La Nuit étoilée, Arles, 1888 Huile sur toile, 73 × 92 cm Donation sous réserve d’usufruit M. et Mme Robert Kahn-Sriber, en souvenir de M. et Mme Fernand Moch, 1975 © RMN-Grand Palais (musée d’Orsay) / Adrien Didierjean
SMITH Autoportrait, 2021 Thermogramme sur aluminium brossé et cadre en acier brossé, 60 × 80 cm Courtesy Galerie Christophe Gaillard © SMITH
GEORGIA O’KEEFFE, Starlight Night, Lake George (Lumière stellaire la nuit, lac George), 1922 Huile sur toile, 40,6 × 60,1 cm Collection privée
ODILON REDON, Le Météore, XIXe siècle Fusain sur papier teinté, 35,5×21 cm Musée des Beaux-arts, Bordeaux
Wenzel Hablik Sternenhimmel (Ciel étoilé), 1909 Huile sur toile, 200 × 200 cm Wenzel Hablik Museum, Itzehoe
Anselm Kiefer Pour Renate, La Vie secrète des plantes, 2001 Plantes et mine de plomb sur tirages photographiques reliés, 14 pages, 64,7 × 50 cm Atelier Kiefer Collection particulière / © Anselm Kiefer - Photographe Charles Dupart
Maurice Chabas L’Éclipse ou les Neuf sphères, date inconnue Huile sur toile, 30 × 34,5 cm Collection Myriam Reiss-De Palma Photo : Wartin Pantois