New analysis links van Gogh’s “starry night” to specific night sky

A team from Kyung Hee University in South Korea analysed Vincent van Gogh’s painting “The Starry Night” and determined the landscape likely came from the pre-dawn sky of July 22, 1889.

Previously, experts believed van Gogh created the work around June of that year, sparking debate over whether it depicted a real scene or his imagination. The researchers compared the positions of celestial bodies in the painting to astronomical data, weather records, and van Gogh’s letters.

They found the arrangement of the Hyades star cluster, a V-shaped group in Taurus, closely matched the painting. The presence of a crescent moon in the work also supports the July 22 date, unlike earlier theories suggesting a waning full moon. The team hopes their findings will offer a fresh perspective on van Gogh’s creative process and life.