Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)
The Night Café, 1888
Oil on canvas, 28 1/2 x 36 1/4 in. (72.4 x 92.1 cm )
Bequest of Stephen Carlton Clark, B.A. 1903
1961.18.34

This famous painting was executed in September 1888, when van Gogh, having abandoned Paris, was living in Arles in the south of France. The artist slept during the day and worked three consecutive nights while completing the picture of Café de l'Alcazar, an all-night haunt that he knew quite well. The glare of gaslight permeates the space. Local down-and-outs and prostitutes are depicted slouched at tables and drinking together at the far end of the room, absorbed in their individual loneliness and despair, which is bitterly contrasted with the shocking colors of the billiard table, wine bottles, and glasses.