Paris · Musée d'Orsay · level 5, rooms 36 -37
Van Gogh at the Musée d'Orsay: works and journey
From the light of the Rhône to the church of Auvers, the Van Gogh rooms in Orsay tell the story of four decisive years in France - without reducing the artist to his legend.
This guide presents the major works, the links between Paris, Arles, Saint Résémy and Auvers, as well as a tour itinerary to better look at color, touch and format variations.
Before entering the rooms
Orsay does not show "all of Van Gogh": he constructs a story
The Musée d'Orsay preserves an exceptional collection of works by Vincent van Gogh, but no collection can sum up such a mobile career on its own. Amsterdam owns the family collection, New York keeps the famous night of Saint Résmy and London several paintings by Arles. In Paris, the interest comes from the continuity proposed between the French years.
Since February 2024, a new presentation has occupied rooms 36 and 37 on level 5, at the end of the Impressionist gallery. The blue picture rails and the larger space allow you to follow three main stages: Paris, Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise. Saint Raremy appears in particular through the self-portrait of 1889.
The journey is particularly useful for understanding Van Gogh's evolution. In Paris, he lightened his palette through contact with the Impressionists and the Neo-Impressionists. In Arles, he simplified drawing and intensified colors. In Saint Résmy, the rhythms become more undulating. In Auvers, the formats and the touch become even more undulating. In Auvers, the formats and touches become even more tense, while Doctor Gachet and his family begin their work.
Orsay also allows you to escape from an exclusively biographical reading. Illness and early death count, but they explain neither the construction of a canvas nor the choice of Prussian blue. In front of the works, start with the relationships of shapes, colors and key directions; then return to letters and context.
A five-step itinerary
Four French years, a transformed language
Following the timeline avoids considering Van Gogh's touch as a style that appeared all at once.
However, these dates do not cut out watertight periods. Van Gogh preserves memories of Paris under the Arles sun, takes up in Saint Rairemy a composition born in the Yellow House and still dialogues in Auvers with Japanese prints. Observe the continuities as much as the ruptures: the same opposition of complements, a dark outline or a divided touch can change function depending on the place, the subject and the state of the research.
Paris
Van Gogh joins Theo. He discovers impressionism, neo-impressionism and Japanese prints; his palette becomes clearer.
Asnières
Restaurants, banks of the Seine and gardens become laboratories of divided touches and frank colors.
Arles
Nights, portraits and yellow room: color emancipates itself from naturalism and organizes space.
Saint-yarnaRémy
The artist works between crises and repetitions. Orsay's self-portrait focuses the gaze in a network of curves.
Auvers
In nearly seventy days, he painted landscapes, portraits and gardens at an exceptional pace.
How the collection formed
Donations, purchases and an inheritance from Doctor Gachet
Fame came after the paintings
Van Gogh did not immediately enter the museum as a consecrated master. His recognition was built after his death thanks to exhibitions, critics, collectors and the work of his sister-in-law Johanna van Gogh-Bonger. French public collections then developed through purchases, legacies and donations. They joined the Musée d'Orsay when it opened in 1986, with the arts from the period 1848 -1914.
The origins explain the variety of the route. Starry Night was given to the National Museums in 1975. The little one Bedroom, acquired in 1959, also bears the memory of ancient links with Japan: it had belonged to Matsukata Kôjiro. A collection is therefore never a simple list of masterpieces; it tells the story of the choices and circulations that made their presentation possible.
The role of the Gachet family is decisive. The doctor welcomed Van Gogh to Auvers in 1890, and his children Paul and Marguerite preserved several works. Between 1949 and 1954, their donations to the Louvre brought a major ensemble into the national heritage. Portraits, landscapes and memories of Auvers thus shed light on the artist's last weeks without reducing them to their tragic outcome.
This story invites you to read the cartels differently. Beyond the title and date, look for the method of acquisition, the previous owner and the inventory number. These discreet lines reveal why certain stages are very present in Orsay, while others are better understood in Amsterdam, London or New York.
Room markers
Six works to build your visit
The hanging may evolve, but these paintings give the main milestones of the Van Gogh d'Orsay collection.
| Work | Date and dimensions | What to look at | Stage of the route |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Mermaid Restaurant in Asnières | 1887, oil on canvas. | Clear palette, small touches and assimilation of Parisian research. | Paris and suburbs. |
| Starry Night | 1888, 73 × 92 cm. | Differentiated blues, gas lights and tiny torque on the banks of the Rhône. | Arles. |
| Van Gogh's Room in Arles | 1889, 57.3 × 73.5 cm. | Deliberately unstable perspective and rest sought by colors. | Arles, copy of Saint Résmy. |
| Portrait of the artist | 1889, 65 × 54.2 cm. | Turquoise-orange opposition and background movement around a fixed face. | Saint Résy. |
| The Auvers Church | 1890, 93 × 74.5 cm. | Recognizable architecture but distorted by contours and paths. | Auvers-sur-Oise. |
| Doctor Paul Gachet | 1890, oil on canvas. | Melancholic pose, digital plant and link with the last few weeks. | Auvers-sur-Oise. |
Arles Masterpiece
Starry Night on the Rhône: painting the night in color
A sky, a city and two silhouettes
Upon his arrival in Arles, Van Gogh looked for a night effect that was not a black mass. On the Rhône, it separates several blues - Prussia, overseas, cobalt - then vibrates the orange gas lights against this cold depth. The yellow reflections descend vertically into the water, while the bank cuts the composition diagonally.
The small couple in the foreground changes the tone of the painting. It gives scale, introduces a calm presence and distinguishes this work from the Starry night painted the following year in Saint Résmy. That of MoMA is a more cosmic reconstruction; that of Orsay remains linked to a walk and the topography of Arles.
Approach to follow the keys, then step back. At a short distance, the water is made of separate lines. A few meters away, the reflections gather and the city really seems to shine.
One image, three versions
The Chamber in Arles: rest through instability
The smallest of the three paintings
Van Gogh painted a first version of his room in October 1888. After a flood which damaged it, he took up the composition in 1889 and made two copies: a version of comparable dimensions today in Chicago, and a smaller one intended for his family, kept in Orsay.
He wants to express "absolute rest" with simple colors: lilac walls, yellow bed, red blanket, green window. However, the floor rises, the walls do not converge normally and the furniture seems to lean slightly. This perspective is not a mistake to correct; it simplifies volumes and gives the room an almost mental presence.
Compare straight lines of furniture to colored surfaces. The painting is less held together by the illusion of depth than by the adjustment of flat areas. The influence of Japanese prints appears in this simplification as much as in the choice of clear contours.
Painting yourself to learn
Portrait of the artist: a fixed face in a changing world
Van Gogh depicts himself more than forty times, often for lack of a model but also to study portraiture. Orsay's self-portrait, painted in Saint Résmy in 1889, contrasts the immobility of the bust with a background crossed by arabesques.
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The look
Direct and slightly off-center, it focuses attention without telling a scene.
The orange beard
Complementary to greens and turquoise, it moves the face forward.
The jacket
The dark garment stabilizes the lower part of the bust.
The outlines
Blue, green and brown lines model without academic shadow.
The arabesques
The background repeats the curves of the hair and amplifies their rhythm.
The framing
The tight bust avoids any accessories and transforms the canvas into confrontation.
The last few weeks
Auvers: the church, the gardens and Doctor Gachet
Van Gogh arrived in Auvers-sur-Oise on May 21, 1890. Close to Paris and Theo, the village offered him rural motifs and the presence of Doctor Paul Gachet. In just over two months, he produced around seventy paintings and numerous drawings.
The Church of Auvers: expressive architecture
Painted between June 4 and 8, the church remains identifiable, but its lines do not seek architectural stability. The walls seem to bend, the two paths go around the building like a current, and the dark blue sky brings the building closer to the viewer.
The museum usefully compares this approach to Monet's cathedrals. Monet studies the variations of light on a facade; Van Gogh transforms the monument through the color, contour and thrust of the paths. The canvas thus announces research that Fauves and Expressionists will develop.
The Gachet Collection
Paul Gachet is a doctor, engraver and art lover. His children Marguerite and Paul fils donated a significant part of the family collection to the Louvre between 1949 and 1954, before the works were transferred to Orsay when it opened.
This provenance explains the richness of the Auvers chapter: portraits, gardens, houses and landscapes allow us to see the last weeks as a period of intense work, not as a simple march towards death.
Visiting method
Look at fewer works, but look at them twice
Remotely
Start at three or four meters: locate format, masses, dominant lines and main contrast.
Up close
Approach to follow the key, repeats, thickness and places where the canvas remains visible.
Without cartel
First make a specific observation before reading the title, date and provenance.
In comparison
Connect two works: night and room, self-portrait and Gachet, Paris and Auvers.
A good visit is not about recognizing as many images as possible. It consists of discovering what the reproduction, the screen or the memory did not show.
Route advice for rooms 36 -37.Prepare for your arrival
Times, access and best time
The information below was verified on the official website in July 2026. Renovation work is underway: check the access conditions and the opening of the rooms on the day of your visit.
The essential
The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a late night on Thursday until 9:45 p.m. It closes on Monday, May 1 and December 25. The last usual access is at 5 p.m.; rooms start closing from 5:30 p.m.
Address: Esplanade Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 75007 Paris. Access by metro line 12, Solférino station, or RER C, Musée d'Orsay station.
A time-stamped ticket limits uncertainty at entry. The first Sunday of the month is free for everyone, but booking a slot remains obligatory.
Best niche
Thursday at night or early in the morning for a slower visit.
Duration
Allow 45 to 60 minutes if you focus on Van Gogh.
Access
Timestamped ticket: entrance indicated for reserved visitors.
Accessibility
Free and priority entry for disabled visitors and their companions.
Selection verified in the store
Five works to extend the visit
These five active products correspond to works preserved in Orsay or closely linked to his Van Gogh career.
Starry night on the Rhône
Nocturnal blues, orange lights and reflections on the water.
Musée d'OrsayThe Room in Arles
The small version intended for the artist's family.
Musée d'OrsayPortrait of the artist
The face constructed by the complements and the arabesques.
AuversGarden of Doctor Gachet
A dense plant space during the last few weeks.
AuversPortrait of Dr. Gachet
A melancholy pose that has become one of the icons of modern portraiture.
Official sources
Check the works and prepare for the visit
As the hanging and practical information may evolve, always favor the Musée d'Orsay website.
Rooms 36 -37 and route from Paris to Auvers.
Orsay - Starry NightInstructions, dimensions, palette and location.
Orsay - The Room in ArlesThree versions, colors and Japanese influence.
Orsay - Portrait of the artistSelf-portraits, complements and composition.
Orsay - The Church of AuversDate, dimensions and expressive reading of the monument.
Orsay - VisitUpdated times, prices, access and conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Van Gogh to Orsay, in eight answers
Where to see Van Gogh at the Musée d'Orsay?
The main presentation is on level 5, in rooms 36 and 37, at the end of the Impressionist Gallery.
What are the major works to see?
The Starry Night on the Rhône, The Room in Arles, Portrait of the Artist, The Church of Auvers and the works linked to Doctor Gachet constitute essential landmarks.
Is Orsay Starry Night the one with the swirling sky?
No. The swirling sky of 1889 is at MoMA. Orsay retains the calmer view of the Rhône painted in Arles in September 1888.
What version of La Chambre à Arles is exhibited in Orsay?
Orsay preserves the smallest of the three paintings, made in 1889 for Van Gogh's family.
How much time should you allow for Van Gogh rooms?
Forty-five to sixty minutes allow you to look at the main works without transforming the visit into a simple passage.
When is the best time to visit?
The first opening hour or Thursday night often offer better conditions, with no guarantee of low attendance.
Is the museum open on Mondays?
No. Orsay is closed on Mondays, as well as May 1 and December 25. Schedules may change, check the official website.
Can I purchase a reproduction of Orsay's works?
Yes. Alpha Reproduction notably offers Starry Night on the Rhône, The Room in Arles and Portrait of the Artist in hand-painted reproduction.
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