Oil on linen 92 x 73 cm. Arnold Smith 2002
This is the cafe in Arles that Vincent painted under the stars. While painting it, Vincent wore a strange hat of his own invention. The hat resembled a birthday cake, with candles around the brim, to help him see his canvas in the dark. This must have been quite a spectacle and must have only fueled rumors of him being a madman ( Don't try this at home boys and girls!.....I re-created a hat like this years ago and almost set my head on fire.....but it was good for a laugh!)
The cafe is now a tourist attraction and this painting shows the way it looks 114 years after Vincent painted it. The interior of the cafe is set up to look like another painting of Vincent's, "Le cafe de Nuit" or the "Night Cafe" with it's red walls and green ceiling.
(UPDATE) I have recently learned that the story of Vincent's candle lit hat is just an old wive's tale and that it probably never really happend. This makes sense. I can testify first hand that a hat with candles around it, does not work very well at all for painting at night. It was very difficult to keep the candles lit, It didn't provide very much light and I ended up with melted wax all over my shirt.
Oh well, so much for legends!
(Detail)
Van Gogh's Painting from 1888