Starry Night Over the Rhône — Vincent van Gogh, Arles 1888

A year before the famous Saint-Rémy night sky, Van Gogh painted the Rhône at night from the Arles quay in 1888. The gas lamps of the town are reflected in the water, the stars overhead are still recognisably stars rather than swirling vortices — a quieter night, grounded in a specific place and a specific hour. The painting is at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. A postcard for a night-scene collection, or for someone who prefers the observed to the visionary. From the Vincent van Gogh collection.