Researchers revise date of Vincent van Gogh Starry Night painting

A team of researchers has suggested a new date for the night sky depicted in Vincent van Gogh's famous painting, The Starry Night. According to France 24 and the Daily Mail, scientists acting as art detectives traced the scene to a real predawn sky observed from the artist's asylum in France. The Daily Mail and Phys.org both report that calculations show the artwork depicts the sky as it appeared just before dawn on July 22, 1889. [1][3][9]

The discovery challenges long-held assumptions by art historians. France 24 reported that historians previously believed the stars were either a product of van Gogh's fantasy or dated the scene to June 1889. Scientific American likewise reported that astronomers identified a misidentified constellation in the work, which alters the assumed timeline for the creation of the painting. [1][4]

The Starry Night is an oil-on-canvas painting created by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. It depicts the view from the east-facing window of his room at the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, just before sunrise, with an added imaginary village. It has been housed in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City since 1941. [3][4][10]

Scientific American reported that astronomers aiming to pin down the exact time and place of the painting's creation had previously reached conflicting conclusions. The new paper on the astronomical findings was published in October 2026. [4]