This oil on canvas painting was completed in 1890 and serves as the final Van Gogh work painted in the Saint-Rémy-de-Provence of France. At first glance, it’s very similar to the Starry Night, one of Van Gogh’s most famous works.

Both Road with Cypress and Star and the Starry Night feature night sky landscapes. Road with Cypress and Star shows a tall cypress tree that separates the painting into two halves. The left half shows a bright glowing star, while the other has a thin crescent moon. Many believe this symbolizes a divide between life and death. This may have been Van Gogh’s way of recognizing that his life was nearing its end.

The cypress trees weren’t simply mentioned in this painting, though, as Van Gogh had spoken about them many times before. He frequently wrote letters to his brother, Theo, throughout his stay in Arles and he frequently referred to the beauty of the cypress trees as well as their “Egyptian obelisk” proportions.

This painting is currently housed with a rather large collection of Van Gogh’s works in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The collection is in the Kroller-Muller Museum in the Hoge Veluwe National Park. This is also where you’ll find the Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum.