New study traces van Gogh's famed 'Starry Night' to an actual night sky from 1889
Also reported by France24
Summary
Scientists from South Korea have studied Vincent van Gogh’s painting "The Starry Night" and matched the sky in the artwork to the real night sky over Saint-Remy de Provence, France, around July 22, 1889. This suggests the painting was created later than previously thought, which was June 1889.Key Facts
- Van Gogh painted "The Starry Night" while at an asylum in Saint-Remy de Provence.
- Researchers used astronomy to compare the painting’s sky to actual celestial events.
- The study dates the night scene to about July 22, 1889, rather than June 1889.
- The new date matches the position of the moon, Venus, and star clusters in the painting.
- The research was led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim from South Korea, who is also a telescope maker and doctoral candidate.
- The team also looked at weather data and Van Gogh’s letters for clues, such as mentions of cicadas, which appear in summer.
- The study appears in the journal Scientific Reports.
- Some experts find the July dating interesting but say it is not yet proven absolutely certain.
