Van Gogh lived in Paris before moving to Arles where his brother, Theo van Gogh, lived. Theo was an important part of Vincent’s life, as he helped him sell his paintings and helped out financially.
Some believe he had a need to find a connection with religion. Some also believe that van Gogh made a reference to da Vinci’s The Last Supper (c. 1490).
In Café Terrace at Night, van Gogh painted the night scene from his vantage point on the street. Directly ahead of us, on the left-hand side of the painting, we see the café terrace, lit up by a gas lamp.
An important point is how van Gogh created a shift from his brilliant yellows to his calming blues above by subtly creating green in between, noticed on the building to the left as the lower part meets the upper terrace.
We will also notice van Gogh’s dynamic brushstrokes, which enhance the nightly life of the composition. He also utilized quite thick swathes of paint for some areas.
Van Gogh was possibly inspired by the novel Bel-Ami (1885) by Guy de Maupassant and the type of setting that relates to his subject matter for Café Terrace at Night.