Cafe Terrace at Night

A cafe terrace glows under the deep blue, star-spangled sky of a warm Arles night, its awning blazing yellow with lamplight, the cobblestones shining, figures seated at the tables and passing in the street. Van Gogh painted the scene on the spot at night, proud that he had used no black at all, only the contrast of warm gold against cool blue. Now in the Kroller-Muller Museum, the Cafe Terrace at Night is among his most beloved works - the ordinary pleasure of an evening out transfigured into a glowing vision of color and starlight.