Analysis dates van Gogh’s “Starry Night” to July 22

Researchers in South Korea and the United States determined that Vincent van Gogh likely painted “The Starry Night” while observing the sky above Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, on July 22, 1889.

Building on previous attempts to link the painting to specific dates, the team combined astronomical simulations with historical weather data and van Gogh’s letters.

They found that the positions of the waning crescent moon, the planet Venus, and the Hyades star cluster in Taurus would have aligned as depicted in the painting around dawn on that date. Van Gogh created “The Starry Night” during a twelve-month stay at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum, where he sought treatment for mental illness and epilepsy. While the painting features a village, it was not visible from his window and was constructed from memory.

Previous attempts to date the painting relied on a letter van Gogh wrote to his brother in June, but the moon’s position did not match the painting’s crescent shape. The research team also examined van Gogh’s “Starry Night over the Rhône” and “Café Terrace at Night”, concluding that the first was painted when the sky was in Aries and the second featured the Summer Triangle.

The team hopes their work will inspire further study of van Gogh’s paintings and his artistic process during his time in Saint-Rémy.