Vincent Willem van Goghwas a Dutch painter. In just over a decade he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. One of his most prolific paintings is a self portrait and a piece of art called 'Starry Night' an oil on canvas by the. Painted in June 1889, it describes the view from the east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.