The lunar eclipse and the dawn of astrophysics in van Gogh's masterpieces

TL;DR

This paper explores how van Gogh's paintings reflect his awareness of 19th-century astrophysics, highlighting astronomical events like lunar eclipses and planetary conjunctions depicted in his masterpieces.

Contribution

It presents new evidence linking van Gogh's artworks to specific celestial phenomena and discusses the influence of 19th-century astrophysical discoveries on his artistic vision.

Findings

Identification of lunar eclipse and planetary conjunctions in van Gogh's paintings

Analysis of celestial elements indicating astrophysical knowledge

Connection between van Gogh's artistic evolution and astronomical events

Abstract

When visiting the Museum of Modern Art's special exhibit ''van Gogh and the Colors of the Night (New York, USA, 2008)'' I was impressed by the artist's effort to paint and write about landscapes and life scenes at night. At the same time a clear contrast emerged between the colored Starry Night paint and the darkness or twilight in his earlier production. Since then, while revising van Gogh's artistic production and reading his letters I have come to the conclusion that his work was not only driven by the poetry of the night but also by his awareness of the dawn of astrophysics in the 19th century. A change in the way the artist conceived the sky after his stay in Paris is evident in his later work with the skies becoming more dynamic and rich in colors. In this paper I am presenting new elements in van Gogh's masterpieces that refer to astronomical events visible from France in 1889 and 1890, such as a lunar eclipse and planetary conjunctions. I discuss these elements in addition to the structured and colorful stars and to the large neutral central swirl in the Starry Night, which all suggest the artist's profound attention to celestial phenomena and knowledge of the new wonders and discoveries of astrophysics in 19th century.