A recent investigation has linked Vincent van Gogh’s celebrated painting, Lane of Poplars at Sunset, to a specific location and time through celestial analysis. The artwork depicts a vibrant orange sun setting low on the horizon, framed by a long lane bordered by nearly bare poplar trees.
This scene bears a striking resemblance to New York’s “Manhattanhenge,” an annual phenomenon where the setting sun aligns perfectly with Manhattan’s numbered streets around May 29 and July 12. Notably, Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson popularized this alignment in 2001.
Intrigued by these parallels, Donald Olson, an astronomer and professor emeritus at Texas State University, employed his expertise in celestial sleuthing to ascertain the painting’s origins. Olson has successfully identified the dates and locations of other van Gogh masterpieces, including Moonrise (Wheat Stacks) and Road with Cypress and Star, using similar astronomical techniques. His latest findings add a new layer of understanding to van Gogh’s artistic process over 130 years ago.
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