Behind The Brush: Van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night

Van Gogh painted Café Terrace at Night (a.k.a The Café Terrace on the Place de Forum) in mid-September, 1888 while in Arles, France. It was first exhibited in 1891 under the name Coffeehouse, in the evening.

Café Terrace at Night, 1888, www.vangoghstudio.com

This was Van Gogh's first painting where he used his famous starry background. You can visit this site and stand in the exact place where Van Gogh placed his easel to paint this masterpiece. The location was actually renovated in 1990-91 to mimic the painting.

This is the real location. It looks like whoever took this photo stood where Van Gogh's easel was set up. www.commons.wikimedia.org

Van Gogh never signed this painting, he only mentioned the work in three letters he wrote. This painting is currently in Otterlo, Netherlands at the Kröller-Müller Museum.

Many people love his The Starry Night but this happens to be my favorite from his paintings with a starry sky. I love the vibrant colors Van Gogh uses in his paintings. The use of such rich colors is what usually attracts me to paintings and why I often choose to share a lot of Impressionist/Post-Impressionist artists. I can only imagine what the café truly looks like at night. I assume Van Gogh depicted the liveliness of it quite well. I thrifted a reproduction of the painting and it's currently at my parent's home. I hope one day I can visit the site and stand where he stood.

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