Was Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ a Flight of Fancy or a Real Sky?
Astronomical simulations and weather records place the painting’s crescent moon, Venus and Hyades cluster in alignment with dawn on that date.
- On Thursday, a South Korean research team led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim, PhD candidate at Kyung Hee University and CEO of SLLAB, reported that Vincent van Gogh's "The Starry Night" depicts the predawn sky over Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, on July 22, 1889.
- Traditionally, historians dated the work to June 1889 based on a letter Van Gogh wrote to his brother, Theo, around June 18. Researchers instead used astronomical simulations and historical weather records to argue the celestial alignment matches July conditions better.
- The analysis identifies a waning crescent moon, Venus, and the Hyades star cluster in the constellation Taurus visible before dawn on July 22. Frequent mentions of cicadas in Van Gogh's letters further corroborate the hotter July weather conditions.
- Jose Luis Aragon of the National Autonomous University of Mexico called the date an "intriguing hypothesis" rather than settled fact. Researchers argue the painting reflects observations Van Gogh made from his asylum window, challenging the established chronology.
- Kim hopes these findings prompt a renewed, multidisciplinary look at Van Gogh's working methods and movements during that summer. The team plans to continue analyzing other night sky paintings to uncover more about the artist's creative process.
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43 Articles
In the winter of 1888 Vincent van Gogh cut his ear off, and in the summer after that he painted one of his most famous pictures. Researchers believe that they know exactly when the sky inspired him. Other experts are skeptical.
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Study finds Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ matches July 1889 sky
The sky in the painting matches the 1predawn sky over Van Gogh’s then home in Saint-Remy, France, around July 22, 1889.
The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh was painted in 1889, during the period in which the artist lived in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. Google Arts & Culture/Museum of Modern Art The turbulent sky of the Starry Night, one of Vincent van Gogh's most iconic and famous works, may have been inspired by a real scene observed by the artist in southern France. A new study published on Thursday (22) in the journal "Scientific Reports" points out that t…
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