Vincent Van Gogh’s Brushstrokes Captured Turbulence in “Starry Night”
We likely all know Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and its whirling vortices, flowing colors, and glowing lights. It’s long been surmised that this swirling scene represents the painter’s tumultuous state of mind, but now, physicists are suggesting the scene also captures “hidden turbulence” in the sky. Yet another example of the connection between art and science.
“The scale of the paint strokes played a crucial role,” lead study author Yongxiang Huang said in a statement. “With a high-resolution digital picture, we were able to measure precisely the typical size of the brushstrokes and compare these to the scales expected from turbulence theories.”
After examining the shapes, scale, and luminance in the piece, researchers concluded the brushstrokes align with two different laws of physics — a “rare” occurrence that may shed light on Van Gogh’s knowledge of the physical world.
“It reveals a deep and intuitive understanding of natural phenomena,” Huang said. “Van Gogh’s precise representation of turbulence might be from studying the movement of clouds and the atmosphere or an innate sense of how to capture the dynamism of the sky.”
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