This umbrella shows a part of the work of Van Gogh La nuit étoilée (Starry Night) preserved at the Musée d'Orsay.

• "I now wish absolutely to paint a starry sky. It often seems to me that night is even more richly coloured than day, coloured with the deepest violets, blues and greens. Some stars are lemoncoloured, others have pink, green, blue or forget-me-not tints."

(letter from Vincent van Gogh to his sister, September 1888)

From the moment of his arrival in Arles, on 8 February 1888, Van Gogh was constantly preoccupied with the representation of "night effects".
He first painted a corner of nocturnal sky in Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles (Otterlo, Rijksmuseum Kröller-Muller). Next came this view of the Rhône in which he marvellously transcribed the colours he perceived in the dark. Blues prevail: Prussian blue, ultramarine and cobalt. The city gas lights glimmer an intense orange and are reflected in the water. The stars sparkle like gemstones.