Originally titled Coffehouse, in the evening, Cafe Terrace at Night (The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum) is an oil on canvas painting by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. It was painted in Arles, France in 1888 and is 80.7 x 65.3 cm. If you stand in the Northeastern corner of Place du Forum and look South, you can still see the cafe from the view of the painting.
This was one of the paintings in a study of opposites. Its counterpart is Vincent's Night Cafe is a vastly differing reddish colored painting with no blues or hints of outside light. They were both painted after van Gogh studied in Paris and they both take place in Arles where he painted them. This was painted at the scene as it looked and interestingly used no black paint, the darkest color being a midnight blue.
The painting itself depicts the patio of a cafe which still remains in the same place, however it has been renamed The van Gogh Cafe and has been remodeled to look more like the painting. Starting from the left hand side is a blue doorway with yellow windows. On the patio is a waiter wearing black and white holding a tray and taking orders from several customers in the restaurant. Above them is a large yellow awning and above that are green shutters that are open to the night air. Back on the street there are several passersby that are clothed in bright outfits. The street itself is cobble stoned. Across the street are more stores open late with colorful drapes on the windows. The street leads into a dark alleyway. On the very right is a large tree with deep green leaves. On the upper portion of the painting is an open blue sky with giant flower like stars. This the first painting by van Gogh where he depicted stars this way as a background. A famous painting where these stars were also used is obviously Starry Night.
Sources
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/14507/education/analysis_of_the_night_cafe___vincent_van_gogh.html
http://www.studymode.com/essays/Formal-Analysis-The-Cafe-Terrace-992218.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cafe_Terrace_at_Night
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