Van Gogh and the Whirlpool Galaxy

“The Starry Night” oil painting by Van Gogh:

The Lord Rosse sketch of the Whirlpool Galaxy:

When I attended David Levy’s talk about astronomy subjects in art and classic literature, he noted that many experts point out that Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” painting bears some resemblance to the Whirlpool Galaxy sketches of Lord Rosse. They say this because the swirling background spiral in the sky in that painting really looks a lot like a swirling whirlpool galaxy amongst the stars.

Van Gogh painted “The Starry Night” 44 years after Lord Rosse’s sketches in 1889, so it is feasible that the sketches could have been a major influence and inspiration for the painting of “The Starry Night.”

The Earl of Rosse KP, William Parsons, also known as “Lord Rosse”, (June 17, 1800 – October 31, 1867) built the world’s largest telescope of that century in 1847, recording and observing many galaxies throughout his lifetime. The first spiral galaxy he observed and sketched was the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51). Amazingly, his detailed sketches look much like the photographic images of spiraling galaxies taken today.

The possibility that the M51 Whirlpool Galaxy may have influenced one of the greatest paintings of all time is definitely nice to think about.