Van Gogh's The Starry Night: Art, Obsession, and a Sky Full of Secrets

Imagine a man standing at a window in the middle of the night, staring at the sky like it owes him money. That man was Vincent van Gogh, and the view he saw from his room at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole ASYLUM in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, would become one of the most ICONIC paintings in human history. Van Gogh painted The STARRY NIGHT in June 1889, while voluntarily staying at that asylum for mental health treatment. He was allowed to set up a STUDIO in a room next to his quarters, and he worked with extraordinary energy, producing dozens of paintings during his stay. The painting measures roughly 74 by 92 centimeters — about the size of a large cutting board — and yet it somehow contains what feels like the entire emotional UNIVERSE of a restless human soul.