Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who created a range of artworks from landscapes to self-portraits, characterised by bold colours and expressive brushwork. Van Gogh suffered from mental and physical health problems throughout his life, and in 1889 he checked into an asylum in Saint-Remy, France. During his stay, he produced ‘The Starry Night’, which features a view from the window of the asylum just before sunrise, with the addition of an imaginary village. The thick sweeping strokes of the paint make the sky come alive alongside the swirling clouds and an illuminate crescent moon. In contrast, the town below appears calm. Completing the scene is a huge cypress plant, uniting the sky and village.