Study links van Gogh's 'Starry Night' to July 1889 night sky over France

Scientists have traced Vincent van Gogh's famous painting 'The Starry Night' to a specific celestial scene, proposing a new date for the artwork, WTOP reported.

A South Korean research team matched the painting's depiction of a crescent moon, Venus, and swirling stars to a predawn sky over Saint-Remy de Provence, France, around July 22, 1889, according to WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando.

This finding challenges the previously accepted date of June 1889, shortly after van Gogh entered a French asylum, as noted by WPLG Local 10.

The study, led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim, CEO of a Seoul telescope maker and doctoral candidate, appears in the journal Scientific Reports and suggests van Gogh observed changes in the night sky that he incorporated into his painting.

Jose Luis Aragon, a physicist who has studied 'The Starry Night' but was not involved in the study, described the July date as an intriguing hypothesis rather than a definitive conclusion, according to WTOP.

Kim's research included visits to France in June and July 2019 to study the stars and sky conditions that inspired the painting.