Monday, 21 March 2011

Van Gogh's Night Cafe

Cafe Terrace at Night on the Place du Forum and Night Cafe are two famous oil paintings by Dutch post-impressionist artist, Vincent van Gogh. This article covers them both in detail and places them within the context of the artist's overall career. The two were painted in 1888 but were not at the same cafe bar, in fact covering two different ones which some people do not always realise. The one used in Cafe Terrace at Night on the Place du Forum has since renamed itself as Van Gogh Cafe and has since brought in huge numbers of tourists as a result who are all brought in by the beauty of that particular painting.
For the Night Cafe painting, the artist was so determined to achieve a consistent and high quality finished painting that he stayed up for three nights at the location in order to get enough time in the right conditions to finish the painting. By sleeping through the day for that short period he was able to stay up in the peaceful quiet and work efficiently. The brightness of the lamps and the way that this reflects light all across the painting is the reason for it's success, but it is the pool table within the centre of the bar that manages to stick in the mind of those who like it.
Besides Cafe Terrace at Night on the Place du Forum and Night Cafe, there were many other key works by Van Gogh whilst living in Arles including Bedroom in Arles, Chair, Irises, Pipe, Boots and Yellow House.
The cafes were within the French town of Arles where Vincent was living with close friend and fellow artist, Paul Gauguin. Van Gogh produced several of his famous Sunflowers series just to decorate the walls of that house, and it is also where he produced his Chair and Bedroom series of paintings. The two cafes both sit within central Arles and now are subjected to a hive of tourists, flocking to understand more about this extraordinary painter.
In conclusion, it is clear that Cafe Terrace at Night on the Place du Forum and Night Cafe are key works from the career of Vincent van Gogh and represent charming scenes from the town of Arles where the artist spent an important period of his career as he developed a relationship with fellow artist Paul Gauguin as well as producing a huge number of his most memorable works.
You can read more about the Van Gogh Cafe paintings at Vangoghnightcafe.org which features both paintings in greater detail - Cafe Terrace at Night on the Place du Forum and Night Cafe.

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