The Night Café

The Night Café (1888) by Vincent van Gogh. Its palette is led by rich amber ochre (#786730, 31%) and dark reddish brown (#663726, 20%). Overall the canvas is mid-toned, vivid and warm.

Color note

Van Gogh built his color on complementary contrasts, blue against orange and red against green, learned from Delacroix and Japanese prints. Some of his reds were fugitive and have faded, so parts of his paintings are cooler today than he made them.

Palette

#786730 MG 188 rich amber ochre 31.1% of canvas
#663726 MG 155 dark reddish brown 20.3% of canvas
#9d8f4f MG 038 light gold 19.9% of canvas
#88793a MG 039 gold 17.4% of canvas
#393b33 MG 218 graphite 11.4% of canvas

Color families

Brown 62%, Yellow 26%, Green 6%, Gray 4%, Black 2%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.51
Contrast: 0.35
Vividness: 0.069
Warmth: +0.98
Complexity: 139 cells
Hue range: 0.45
Focus: 0.01

Composition

51% of the visual weight is in the left half, 58% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.26 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 21% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 33% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1888
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 72.4 × 92.1 cm
Genre: genre art
Collection: Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven

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