Caf Terrace at Night by Vincent van Gogh

A Critique by Patreze D. Aberilla

The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, another name of this artwork was made by a
Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. Gogh was also known for his masterpiece Starry Night over the
Rhone but my interest and fascination are in the Caf Terrace at Night.

Goghs painting shows a terrace of the caf at night. Its background is the night sky filled
with stars. The caf is lively during the calm night. The people sitting and comforting themselves
while chatting with their companions. There is also a lady who serves them. The terrace is not
over-crowded since some tables in the terrace are unoccupied.

The tables in the terrace are arranged vertically. It has slant thick cloth above the people as their
shade. The lamp above them has horizontal steel that supports it and has curly lines that adds
design to the place. Beside the caf terrace are the joint straight roads that lead to other places.
There are curve leaves at the right side of the picture. The terrace has circular tables, chairs and a
rectangular carpet. At the right is the elongated rectangular post that supports the huge
rectangular window.

The painting is composed of contrast colors. The background of it was the black shadows
of buildings that cast the roads. The caf itself shows bright colors. Inside the caf is an orange
light that reflects through terraces. The terrace has a yellow wall that makes it look lively. Under

the infrastructures is a dark-bluish night sky with sparkling white stars. The green leaves at the
right side of the painting add more details in the scenario. Over all in this painting, the bright
overcomes the dark which makes the painting looks more attractive.

The road in this picture is rough and has bumps. The people in the terrace wearing thick
clothes and which maybe because of the cold breezy wind that night time has. The two roads that
are join together beside the caf shows one-point perspective.

Gogh made Caf Terrace at Night using oil as his medium and painted it on an
industrially primed canvas of size 25 (Toile de 25 figure). The art movement that was being used
is Post-Impressionism, which also present in other paintings of Goghs. Post-Impressionism is a
tactic which the painter like Gogh rejects interest in depicting the observed world and looked to
their memories and emotions instead in order to connect with the viewer on a deeper level.

I have seen some of Goghs paintings but among all of his works Ive seen, Caf Terrace
at Night is my favorite. I love how the dark and bright colors combined without ruining the
scenario. And most of all, this painting makes me feel warm and welcome. When I see it, I desire
to experience what is in the painting.