Van Gogh's other Starry Night - Starry Night over the Rhone is equally captivating in its color and placement of the Great Bear. He painted it in Arles, France in September 1888. I checked with Stellarium and found this star map from Arles, France from late Sept 1888 that depicts the big dipper in about the same position to the horizon as Vincent painted it.
Star background from Stellarium; Arles, France, Sep 1888
I can't help thinking about this since it came up in an Asterism post over a year ago. Last year my wife and I were traveling in Greece and Italy in late Sep/ October. We had some great views of the Great Bear from our location on Santorini, in the position just above the horizon - unforgettable. Unfortunately we cannot see this constellation in the same position from our back yard this time of year due to obstruction by hills, and the overwhelming city glow to the North.
But back to Van Gogh, stars, and color: In this particular painting (shown below) the artist is reported here to have indicated some details about the color in it to his brother Theo:
“The sky is aquamarine, the water is royal blue, the ground is mauve.” He continues, “The town is blue and purple. The gas is yellow and the reflections are russet gold descending down to green-bronze.”
And more interesting to me is Van Gogh's caparison of brightness and color between the stars of the big dipper and the gas lights of the city, reference here:
"On the aquamarine field of the sky the Great Bear is a sparkling green and pink, whose discreet paleness contrasts with the brutal gold of the gas. Two colorful figurines of lovers in the foreground."
Starry Night over the Rhone - Vincent Van Gogh
I am very much on the learning curve in discerning star colors and in taking in all the variables involved - aperture, manufacturer, conditions, power, star magnitude, etc. But it is always exciting when those conditions converge and the brilliance of color shines through.
Funny you should mention that particular work of Van Gogh! 
My living room:
