After measuring the relative scale and spacing of the whirling strokes, the researchers say van Gogh "accurately captures" cascading energy.

Exhibition at London's National Gallery features a 'stunning array' of paintings from the last two years of the artist's life

"Vincent van Gogh, as one of the most notable post-impressionist painters, had a very careful observation of turbulent flows: he was able to reproduce not only the size of whirls/eddies, but also their relative distance and intensity in his painting," the researchers write.