Vincent van Gogh’s 1888 painting “Café Terrace at Night” is thought by some to include a representation of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper.”
The painting shows a lit cafe in the town of Arles in France, where the Dutch artist lived for a few years before his death in 1890.
The central figure in the cafe is a long-haired waiter wearing a white shirt and apron, surrounded by people seated at tables.
Independent researcher Jared Baxter argues that van Gogh was deeply religious before beginning his career as an artist, and Baxter thinks the painting is an example of an entire genre of “Last Supper” paintings by various artists that are modeled on da Vinci’s original.
Baxter also notes the cross shape made by the frame of the window behind the waiter’s back, the heavenly appearance of the well-lit cafe (compared to the dark streets outside) and the shadowy figure standing near the door who may represent the traitorous Judas.
What is Post-Impressionism?
Post-Impressionism is an art movement that developed in the 1890s. It is characterized by a subjective approach to painting, as artists opted to evoke emotion rather than realism in their work, using symbolic motifs, unnatural color, and painterly brushstrokes.
A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not a work of art.
Paul Cézanne
Color! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams.
Vincent van Gogh
