Why it matters
Painted on the spot in Arles in September 1888, Café Terrace at Night was, in Van Gogh's own words, 'a painting of night without black': made with nothing but blue, violet and green around a terrace lit sulphur and lemon yellow under a starry sky.
Did you know?
- It is not signed, but Van Gogh describes it in three letters.
- You can still stand where he set up his easel on the Place du Forum; the café was refurbished to match the painting.
- When first exhibited in 1891 it was called Coffeehouse, in the evening.
Based on the Wikipedia article Café Terrace at Night (CC BY-SA 4.0).
