In September 1888 Van Gogh set up his easel on the bank of the Rhône in Arles at night and painted the river, the gas lamps of the town reflected in the water, and the stars of the Big Dipper overhead. A couple walks along the shore in the foreground.

He painted it outdoors, in the dark. It was shown in Paris in 1889, the year before he painted his more famous Starry Night from memory.