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Van Gogh Starry Night sky date pinned to July 22, 1889, say astronomers
A South Korean research team reported that the van Gogh Starry Night sky date matches a predawn sky over Saint-Remy de Provence, France, around July 22, 1889 - a month later than the June 1889 dating art historians have long accepted.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 22, 2026
• 3 Min Read
A sky that fits July 22
The Starry Night, with its crescent moon and Venus set among swirling stars above a village, may record a real morning later than scholars have thought, according to a South Korean team whose study appeared Thursday. The van Gogh Starry Night sky date they found is right around July 22, 1889 - a predawn scene over Saint-Remy de Provence, France, and a month past the June 1889 dating art historians have long accepted, which falls soon after van Gogh checked into the asylum.
The doubt about June arose from the heavens themselves: in mid-June 1889, the moon was not the sliver crescent van Gogh painted. Around July 22, however, the team found the predawn moon matched the canvas, with the Hyades star cluster in the constellation Taurus rising in the east alongside Venus, and weather analyses point to a clear sky that morning.
How the team dated the painting
The study in the journal Scientific Reports was led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim, chief executive of a Seoul telescope maker and a doctoral candidate at Kyung Hee University. The researchers tested and verified their methods on night skies in other paintings before applying them here.
Fieldwork played a part as well: Kim traveled to France twice in 2019, first in mid-June and again around July 22, and found brilliant stars in the July predawn sky that were unlike anything June offered.
Kim: 'I will bet on this date'
Kim said the most similar sky came around July 22, 1889, though the few days before and after could also have inspired van Gogh. Of the date itself, he was direct:
I am confident that July 22 is the better date. I will bet on this date.
In an email, Kim added that the painter worked from what he saw overhead: "No two skies are the same. Something always changes. I believe Vincent noticed those changes and put them into the painting."
An intriguing hypothesis, not a settled answer
The team also contends, from analyses of letters between the painter and one of his brothers - some referring to cicadas - that van Gogh's seizure occurred later in July. He had checked into the asylum shortly before June 1889, months after cutting off his left ear during an argument with painter Paul Gauguin.
Outside experts urge caution. Jose Luis Aragon of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, who did not take part in the study, said: "Still, I would see the July date as an intriguing hypothesis rather than a settled answer." He noted that van Gogh painted at the asylum from sketches and memory, so the sky is likely a composite of many nights, as the authors themselves acknowledge.
Aragon still called the work careful and genuinely interdisciplinary, saying: "What I find most convincing is the broader message: The painting is not pure fantasy. Van Gogh watched the real sky very closely."
As for Kim, he has never seen The Starry Night in person at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Now that the paper is out, he plans to go.
