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New Astronomical Dating Places Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” on July 22, 1889
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New Astronomical Dating Suggests July 22, 1889
A South-Korean research team led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim matched the celestial arrangement in Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” to a predawn sky over Saint-Remy-de-Provence on July 22, 1889. The study, published in *Scientific Reports*, argues that the thin crescent moon, Venus and the Hyades star cluster depicted in the painting correspond to that night, a month later than the long-accepted June dating.
How Researchers Determined the Date
Kim, CEO of a Seoul telescope maker and doctoral candidate at Kyung Hee University, used astronomy software to reconstruct the dawn sky for every day in June and July 1889. By measuring the geometric similarity between the painting’s star patterns and the simulated skies, only three dates qualified; July 22 provided the closest match. The team also examined weather records, concluding the sky would have been clear enough for observation, and analyzed Van Gogh’s letters—cicada references and a seizure reported later in July—to support a later timeframe.
Institutional Reactions
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which was not involved in the research, reiterated its position that the painting was created in June 1889, citing a roll of canvas received in early June and a drawing sent to Theo van Gogh on July 2.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Still, I would see the July date as an intriguing hypothesis rather than a settled answer,” — Jose Luis Aragon, at the National Autonomous University of Mexico — Jose Luis Aragon, National Autonomous University of Mexico.