Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' May Depict Real Sky from July 1889

New research suggests Vincent van Gogh's iconic painting 'The Starry Night' was likely based on a real celestial arrangement visible before dawn on July 22, 1889, rather than being purely imaginary. A study published in Scientific Reports by South Korean scientists uses astronomical simulations and geometric analysis to match the painting's stars to the Hyades cluster in the Taurus constellation. Source: CNN

The Evidence

Researchers from SLLAB and Kyung Hee University used a Procrustes shape analysis to compare the positions of five stars in the painting with the Hyades cluster, finding a close match after accounting for artistic scaling and rotation. They also identified the depicted landscape as a hill southwest of the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, where van Gogh was staying. Source: Gizmodo

Challenging Previous Theories

• Earlier studies from the 1980s proposed a June 1889 date for the painting, based on art historical analysis of van Gogh's letters. Source: Gizmodo
• The new study argues that the sky corresponds to late July, suggesting van Gogh may have conceived the work in June but completed it after July 22. Source: Gizmodo
• The same statistical method also mapped van Gogh's 1888 painting "Café Terrace at Night" to the Summer Triangle star pattern. Source: CNN

Expert Interpretation

Lead author Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim emphasized that the analysis shows the painting "did not invent a sky that was not there but transferred an observed arrangement onto canvas through stylistic amplification." Source: CNN The study represents a multidisciplinary approach, combining astronomy, historical weather records, and van Gogh's letters. Source: Gizmodo