Café Terrace at Night

A café terrace sheltered beneath a vibrant yellow awning.

Above, a large gas lantern bathes the round tables and chairs in a warm, golden glow.

Silhouettes of patrons gather in the gentle illumination.

Looking up, large stars shine brilliantly in the deep ultramarine sky framed between the buildings.

A warm scene emerges from the darkness of the night.

Today, the Café Van Gogh, with its yellow facade, still welcomes visitors in Arles.

It seems as though it has preserved its appearance from that very era.

When painting a nocturnal scene, black paint is typically used to convey the darkness.

Yet in truth,

back in 1888, the exterior walls of this café were not yellow at all.

And there is another even more surprising fact:

Van Gogh did not use a single stroke of black paint to depict this night scene.

In February 1888,

Van Gogh moved from Paris to the town of Arles in the Provence region of southern France.

In September of that year, he rented the Yellow House, his heart brimming with excitement for a new project:

establishing the Studio of the South, a shared haven and workshop with fellow painter Paul Gauguin.

During this period, as he eagerly awaited Gauguin's arrival the following October,

Van Gogh's creative drive reached an extraordinary peak.

Though he was in financial straits, relying on funds sent by his brother Theo for living expenses and art supplies,

he was emotionally serene, completely absorbed in his pure artistic pursuits.

It was around this time that Van Gogh strolled through the nocturnal streets of Arles.

And then,

he came upon a café on the Place du Forum in the city center.

In the late nineteenth century, gas lamps had only recently begun to spread across urban spaces.

It was a striking new sight, brightly illuminating the darkness of the night.

He had been engrossed in Guy de Maupassant's novel Bel-Ami,

captivated by its description of a brightly lit café terrace and a starry sky along the boulevard.

He resolved to express that very atmosphere in his own painting.

He brought his canvas directly to the location at night—

a revolutionary method for the time, painting outdoors directly under the glow of the gas lamps.

In a letter to his sister Wil, he recorded this spontaneous surge of passion:

"Normally one makes drawings and sketches beforehand, but I decided to make a painting of it straight away."