Vincent van Gogh’s art is instantly recognisable. Among his most iconic techniques are the swirling, dynamic patterns that dominate paintings like The Starry Night. But have you ever wondered why Van Gogh painted spirals?
Spirals are one of the most ancient and universal symbols in human culture. They appear in nature, from galaxies to seashells, and across art history, symbolising.
Swirls in The Starry Night
In The Starry Night, the sky is alive with turbulent, whirling spirals. These swirls are not just decorative, they are a visual representation of Van Gogh’s inner state. Many art historians believe that.
If you want to explore the deeper symbolism of this masterpiece, check out The Starry Night Symbolism.
Nature, Cosmos, and the Human Mind
Van Gogh’s spirals also link the microcosm of human emotion to the macrocosm of the universe. Just as galaxies spiral and winds twist in the sky, Van Gogh’s brushstrokes echo the natural patterns of life and motion. By translating these into paint, he allows us to feel both the chaos and harmony of existence.
Ancient Significance of Spirals
Spirals are among the oldest symbolic motifs created by humans. One of the most striking early examples is a Neolithic megalithic tomb in Ireland dating to around 3200 BCE, where a triple‑spiral (sometimes called a “triskele”) is carved into the entrance stone.
These ancient carvings, long predating Celtic culture, testify to a powerful symbolic language already in use thousands of years ago.
Across many ancient societies, the spiral appears in petroglyphs, tomb carvings, pottery, jewellery, and architecture, from Neolithic Europe to the Mediterranean and beyond.
Van Gogh’s Spirals and the Physics of the Sky
Remarkably, the swirling patterns in The Starry Night can reflect a subtle understanding of natural atmospheric dynamics.
Researchers studying the painting analysed high-resolution images and found that the 14 main swirling shapes, the churning whites, blues, and yellows around the stars, moon, and sky, align with physical principles of turbulence.
The scale, spacing, and brightness of Van Gogh’s brushstrokes correspond closely to how kinetic energy moves through turbulent flows in the atmosphere, a phenomenon predicted by Kolmogorov’s theory of turbulence over 80 years before the painting was made.
Whether Van Gogh consciously studied the physics of clouds and air currents or simply possessed an intuitive grasp of how the sky moves, his work captures the motion and energy of the atmosphere with astounding accuracy. These swirls, therefore, are not just visual flourishes, they are an expression of both emotion and the natural laws governing the universe, merging artistry and scientific realism in a way that continues to captivate viewers today.
Portal to The Spirit World
From the engraved mammoth ivory pieces of Siberia, dating back 18,000 years, to the monumental Serpent Mound in Ohio, spirals have captivated humans for millennia. In Europe, spirals became particularly prominent in the megalithic art of Ireland, most notably at the Brú na Bóinne complex, home to Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth.
These Neolithic sites, active for nearly 6,000 years, feature spirals carved into kerbstones and passage tombs, some of which are aligned with solstices and equinoxes, suggesting a connection between the motifs and celestial cycles.
Despite their prevalence, the exact meaning of spirals in prehistoric art remains speculative. Some interpretations propose that they represent the sun, a portal to the spirit world, or the cycles of life and eternity.
Others suggest more practical uses, such as calendrical devices for tracking seasons and lunar cycles. Interestingly, while spirals were relatively rare in Europe during the Upper Palaeolithic (roughly 40,000–12,000 years ago), they were far more common in the Americas, often associated with ritual practices and altered states of consciousness.
Researchers have also explored the neurological roots of spiral imagery. Geometric motifs like the spiral may arise naturally from the structure of the human visual cortex, and similar patterns appear in hallucinations and visual experiences induced by altered brain activity. This connection between the human nervous system and geometric art suggests that spirals resonate deeply with human perception, bridging biology, culture, and spirituality.
For a detailed look at ancient spiral symbols and other geometric motifs in rock art, Bradshaw Foundation is one of the best resources online.
