What is the name of the asylum where van Gogh stayed when he painted 'The Starry Night'?
Answer
Saint-Paul-de-Mausole
Answer
Saint-Paul-de-Mausole
What is the name of the asylum where van Gogh stayed when he painted “The Starry Night”? Saint-Paul-de-Mausole. More precisely, he stayed at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, in southern France.
Van Gogh voluntarily entered the institution on 8 May 1889, after the mental-health crisis he had suffered in Arles. Saint-Paul-de-Mausole occupied a former monastery, giving the site both its religious architectural setting and its distinctive name. Van Gogh remained there for about a year, until May 1890.
The artist was allowed to use a bedroom on the upper floor and a separate ground-floor room as a studio. He could not paint directly from his bedroom, so he worked from observations, sketches, and memory. “The Starry Night” was painted around 18 June 1889 and represents the view from his east-facing window, modified with an imaginary village and expressive cypresses.
A common mix-up is Saint-Rémy: that is the town, not the institution’s full name. “Saint-Rémy Asylum” describes the location informally, but Saint-Paul-de-Mausole is the canonical answer.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026