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Study Pinpoints July 22, 1889 for Starry Night

By Drooid · Oct 22, 2026, 11:53 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

South Korean researchers led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim propose July 22, 1889 as the date of Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.
The team recreated every dawn sky in June and July 1889 with astronomy software and found three matching dates.
They identified July 22, 1889 as the closest match, showing a thin crescent moon, Venus and the Hyades cluster.
The Van Gogh Museum cites canvas receipt and a July 2 drawing to date the work to June 1889.
Donald Olson argues the painting’s Venus and Hyades positions conflict with calculations, questioning the study’s assumptions.

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Story summary

South Korean researchers led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim propose July 22, 1889 as the date of Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.
The team recreated every dawn sky in June and July 1889 with astronomy software and found three matching dates.
They identified July 22, 1889 as the closest match, showing a thin crescent moon, Venus and the Hyades cluster.
The Van Gogh Museum cites canvas receipt and a July 2 drawing to date the work to June 1889.
Donald Olson argues the painting’s Venus and Hyades positions conflict with calculations, questioning the study’s assumptions.