Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 2 hrs ago
Researchers link Van Gogh’s Starry Night to the sky of July 22, 1889
Researchers in South Korea matched the painting’s sky to a real one visible before dawn around July 22, 1889.
The view was from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in southern France, where Van Gogh painted The Starry Night while staying at an asylum.
The painting is usually dated to June, when the Moon was too full to match the thin crescent shown in the scene.
The team compared the positions of stars in the painting with computer reconstructions of the historical sky, finding that the Hyades cluster best matched the central stars around July 22.
The Moon and Venus also fit the sky at that time, supporting the idea that Van Gogh incorporated an observed view into his expressive composition.
The finding offers a possible new date for the scene, and the method may help art historians reassess other paintings.
Researchers say Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night may depict the pre-dawn sky around July 22, 1889, over Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France.
Their analysis found that the Moon, Venus and the Hyades star cluster in Taurus aligned with features in the painting.
The findings challenge the commonly accepted June 1889 dating of the artwork.
The study, led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim, was published in Scientific Reports.
The researchers say the match supports the possibility that van Gogh incorporated an observed sky into his expressive composition.
- Who
- A research team led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim, a PhD candidate at Kyung Hee University and CEO of SLLAB.
- What
- The team found that the painting’s celestial features may match the sky around July 22, 1889.
- When
- Around July 22, 1889; the study was published on October 22, 2026.
- Where
- The sky over Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, southern France, where van Gogh painted The Starry Night.
- Why
- The researchers compared the painting’s celestial pattern with reconstructed skies to investigate whether it reflected an observed view.
Researchers proposing a July date
Art historians supporting a June date
Painting date
Researchers proposing a July date
The team’s analysis suggests the painting depicts the pre-dawn sky around July 22, 1889.
Art historians supporting a June date
Art historians have long thought van Gogh painted it in June 1889.
Evidence
Researchers proposing a July date
The researchers point to a thin crescent Moon, Venus and the Hyades cluster matching the painting.
Art historians supporting a June date
The June dating has been associated with a letter van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo around June 18, 1889.
Art historian Albert Boime and astronomer George Abell began investigating the sky depicted in the painting.
The research team made two field trips to France and photographed places van Gogh had drawn and painted.
The Moon, Venus and the Hyades appeared in an arrangement that the researchers say matches the painting.
The study was published in Scientific Reports.
- Proposed date
- Around July 22, 1889
- Location
- Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, southern France
- Celestial objects
- Waning crescent Moon, Venus and the Hyades cluster in Taurus
- Study leader
- Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Publication date
- October 22, 2026
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What people are saying
To an observational astronomer, the cluster of stars in The Starry Night is the Hyades in Taurus. But the moment I read the earlier studies explaining it as Aries, I heard the painting calling to me.
To an observational astronomer, the cluster of stars in ‘The Starry Night’ is the Hyades in Taurus. But the moment I read the earlier studies explaining it as Aries, I heard the painting calling to me.
When they see a fragment of a starry sky, observational astronomers like me and amateur astronomers alike will want to solve the puzzle. I am simply someone who pursued that process a little more actively