Monday, August 30, 2010

Café Terrace at Night - Van Gogh


It is a starry night in the city. It is an enchanted evening. People are enjoying their meals on a street side café. Others are walking through the cobblestone streets. The yellow is in complete contrast with the blues. The yellow shows a warm, bright café scene. In Van Gogh’s oil painting Café Terrace at Night, also known as The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, there are small figures of people drinking. A bright yellow lantern lights up the terrace, the facade, the side walk and even casts light on the paving stones of the road which take a violet tone. The walls of the surrounding buildings are dark blue or violet with a green tree. Van Gogh himself says, “here you have a night painting without black, with nothing but beautiful blue and violet and green and in this surrounding the illuminated area colours itself sulfur pale yellow and citron green.” Van Gogh painted this at night. He did this immediately drawing it as he saw it.

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