Astronomer Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim and colleagues propose that stars in Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” resemble the Hyades cluster in Taurus as it appeared before dawn over France on July 22, 1889. Their paper was published Oct. 22 in Scientific Reports, according to Science News and Scientific American. The date describes the sky the researchers propose, not when van Gogh finished the painting.
The team used shape analysis to compare five painted stars with five stars in the Hyades. The pattern produced the strongest statistical fit among the alternatives they tested, including Aries, Scientific American reports. They also tested the method against the Big Dipper in van Gogh’s “Starry Night Over the Rhône,” Science News reports. The researchers considered the moon, Venus and simulated celestial positions, while Kim visited France in June and July 2019 to investigate the proposed view, according to Science News.
Art historians typically date “The Starry Night” to mid-June 1889, citing a letter to van Gogh’s brother Theo written on or about June 18. In it, van Gogh mentioned “a new study of a starry sky,” Science News reports. The researchers argue that the letter does not show he had finished the painting, according to Scientific American.
Astronomer Donald Olson disputes the proposed reconstruction. He argues that its narrow field of view conflicts with the wider view needed to include the painting’s hills and cliffs, Science News reports. Olson also says the calculated position of Venus relative to the Hyades does not match the painting, according to Scientific American. The proposed sky date does not settle when the painting was finished.
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