---
title: The Night Café by van Gogh
author: Yale University Art Gallery
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15459/the-night-cafe-by-van-gogh/
format: machine-readable-alternate
updated: 1970-01-01
---

# The Night Café by van Gogh

_Authored by Yale University Art Gallery_

## Image File

[![The Night Café by van Gogh](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/15459.png)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/15459.png)

## Image Caption

An 1888 oil on canvas painting, *The Night Café*, by [Vincent van Gogh](https://www.worldhistory.org/Vincent_van_Gogh/) (1853-90), the Dutch post-impressionist artist. Painted in September in place du Forum in Arles, France. It is the interior of the same café which features in the *Café Terrace at Night*. Once again, van Gogh uses two strongly contrasting colours, this time red and green for dramatic effect. He gives the room, as he does in other works of this period, an unusual perspective as if seen from slightly above. Van Gogh describes the purpose of the scene in a letter to his brother Theo:

> In my picture of the night café, I have tried to express the idea that the café is a place where one can destroy oneself, go mad or commit a crime. (LT 534F)

(New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery, U.S.A)

## Cite This Work

### APA
Gallery, Y. U. A. (2022, March 16). The Night Café by van Gogh. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15459/the-night-cafe-by-van-gogh/>
### Chicago
Gallery, Yale University Art. "The Night Café by van Gogh." *World History Encyclopedia*, March 16, 2022. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15459/the-night-cafe-by-van-gogh/>.
### MLA
Gallery, Yale University Art. "The Night Café by van Gogh." *World History Encyclopedia*, 16 Mar 2022, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15459/the-night-cafe-by-van-gogh/>.

## License & Copyright

[Original image](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Le_caf%C3%A9_de_nuit_(The_Night_Caf%C3%A9)_by_Vincent_van_Gogh.jpeg) by [**Yale University Art Gallery**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Le_caf%C3%A9_de_nuit_(The_Night_Caf%C3%A9)_by_Vincent_van_Gogh.jpeg). Submitted by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/ "User Page: Mark Cartwright"), published on 16 March 2022. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Public Domain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain). This item is in the public domain, and can be used, copied, and modified without any restrictions. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.