Van Gogh Cafe Terrace at Night

An 1888 oil on canvas painting by Vincent van Gogh, also painted in Arles, where he painted his bedroom.  In this painting he uses strong contrasting colours of yellow and blue for a dramatic effect.  The perspective is deliberately distorted, with the roof of the cafe at the center of the scene, while placing the customers at the far end.  This way he draws the eye to the heart of the picture and the cafe.  He painted this in open air, not in a studio (typical of the Impressionists) and he was particularly keen on capturing the black night, using only blues and violets, trying to paint a night without black.  We can also see some of his characteristic stars in this painting.

The painting is not signed, but he writes about it in three of his letters: "On the terrace, there are little figures of people drinking.  A huge yellow lantern lights the terrace, the facade, the pavement, and even projects light over the cobblestones of the street, which takes on a violet-pink tinge.  The gables of the houses on a street that leads away under the blue sky studded with stars are dak blue or violet, with a green tree.  Now there's a painting of night without black.  With nothing but beautiul blue, violet and green, and in these surroundings, the lighted square is coloured pale sulfur, lemon green.  in enormously enjoy painting on the spot at night."

This beautiful painting is currently in the Kroller-Muller Museum in Otterlo, Netherlands.

This 40 x 50cm version of this iconic Van Gogh painting is relatively challenging and has 27 colours.  Each box contains a stretched, printed and numbered canvas, paint, brushes and a page detailing the numbers for an extra reference.

Further reading:

https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/europe/netherlands-museums/kroller-muller-museum/cafe-terrace-at-night-by-vincent-van-gogh/

https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15461/cafe-terrace-at-night-by-van-gogh/