Interpretation of the Starry Night Over Rhone by Van Gogh

 

This is Van Gogh's painting Starry Night Over Rhone, similar to his painting Starry Night, but still different.

Here, you see a couple holding hands, walking on the beach at night. The sky is three different colors; three shades of blue. The shining lights of the buildings are all aligned with the stars. Above the stars the sky is a dark black, and below it's a light, friendly shade of blue.

Van Gogh probably painted this when he was in the asylum, along with Starry Night. I think the stars above the lit houses mean that any ordinary-seeming person has the chance to do what they want in life and have dreams to look up to, which would be why the stars are directly aligned to the houses, and even the houses themselves are lit up on the inside. This could have served as self-inspiration when Van Gogh was in the asylum.

The part of the paining with the couple holding hands was probably drawn because Van Gogh must have felt loneliness when he was locked up, and (going back to self-inspiration) the couple also seem to be looking up at the stars. I think this means he had hope that once he got out of the asylum he wouldn't be so lonely anymore.