Hidden turbulence in van Gogh's The Starry Night.

This article investigates the presence of turbulence-like flow patterns in Vincent van Gogh’s painting *The Starry Night* by analyzing all and only the swirling eddies visible in the artwork. Using high-resolution digital images, the study applies turbulence theories—specifically the Richardson–Kolmogorov cascade and Batchelor’s scalar turbulence theory—to the luminance field treated as a passive scalar. The Fourier power spectrum of the painting’s luminance reveals a dual power-law behavior: a Kolmogorov-like −5/3 scaling corresponding to the multi-scale eddies and a Batchelor −1 scaling at smaller scales related to the viscous-convective range, consistent with the high Schmidt number expected from the painting’s materials. These findings suggest that van Gogh’s depiction closely mimics real turbulent flows not only in eddy size but also in their spatial arrangement and intensity. The study also compares these results with analyses of other artworks and natural turbulent phenomena, highlighting the interplay between art and fluid dynamics.