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What art historian claims Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is representative of his nocturnal fascination?
The Starry Night
Simon Singh, in his book "Big Bang", says that "Starry Night" has striking similarities to a sketch of the "Whirlpool Galaxy", drawn by Lord Rosse 44 years before Van Gogh's work. The painting has been compared to an astronomical photograph of a star named V838 Monocerotis, taken by the Hubble in 2004. The clouds of gas surrounding the star resemble the swirling patterns Van Gogh used in this painting. Art historian Joachim Pissarro cites "Starry Night" as an exemplar of the artist's fascination with the nocturnal.