Approximately 150 paintings did Van Gogh create at the Saint-Paul asylum. He voluntarily entered Saint-Paul-de-Mausole near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in May 1889, after repeated mental-health crises in Arles, and remained there for about a year.
At first, Van Gogh was largely confined to the asylum grounds. He painted the enclosed garden, corridors, flowering irises, lilacs, and the view from his room, including a wheat field framed by the window. Later, when permitted to go beyond the walls, he worked among the olive groves, cypresses, and hills of Provence.
This exceptionally productive period produced around 150 canvases, alongside more than 100 drawings. Its best-known works include The Starry Night, Irises, The Starry Night Over the Rhône? No—the latter was painted in Arles—and several celebrated olive-tree and cypress paintings. A common mix-up is treating every famous “starry night” as a Saint-Rémy work: the riverside night scene belongs to Arles, while The Starry Night belongs to Saint-Rémy.
The figure is approximate because catalogues count paintings differently, especially studies, unfinished works, and pieces made in the surrounding countryside.