Critiquing Van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night

[@idamirshahi8355]

It was fantastic. I noticed some aspects of this masterpiece that I had not noticed before. Thank you.

[@tomeetomee4913]

I also notice the chairs are turned around to welcome us into the painting. What a great painting to use as a lesson. This was so interesting I hope you will do more of these in the future. Thanks for this. tom

[@andrewwebb4635]

Thank you for a brilliant critique of this lovely painting. It’s my favourite van Gogh as it happens. I couldn’t explain before why I like it so much but now I’ve got a much better idea of why I’m drawn to it. I think the ideas you discussed are general, I.e. we can apply them to any drawing or painting. Fantastic!

[@OneHope4Heaven]

Great analysis! Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists & my mom had 3 of his paintings in my house when I was growing up; Sunflowers, Boat on the ocean, & Terrace (my favorite). As a child, I didn't understand why he used so many choppy brush marks, but when I studied art in college & learned more about how artists were trying to express movement around the advent of photography, I learned that Van Gogh was trying to express how the stars in the sky, for example, sparkled by repeating those brush marks around them. (He also used thick brush stokes - that is, lots of paint with each application - & his brother told him not to do that saying it was "a waste of paint"...[mind you, he used to buy Vincent's paint for him because Vincent struggled financially, so this wasn't necessarily for the purpose of giving him an "artistic critique". Vincent loved his older brother, Theo, dearly though & told him it was just the way he saw it in his mind & couldn't paint it any other way, though it continued to aggravate Theo.] We were lucky enough to see his exhibit at LACMA (the LA County Museum of Art) when it came out in the last decade or so, & got really close up to the painting to see those brush stokes. I love the fact that Vincent included those 2 figures on the Terrace (light & dark as in reference to Jesus & Judas) & wasn't aware of this before... in fact, I hadn't even noticed the dark figure in the doorway before at all & think it's genius to have placed him there, IN PURE LIGHT, to represent "a bad charachter". My mother & I both majored in Fine Arts, & I'm going to point that out to her today. I remember when I got a book on his artwork, examining the color usage in the street, & being so surprised at how much red was used in it. Thanks again for this review! I really enjoyed it & would love to see more like this on his paintings as well as other artists such as Modigliani, Matisse, Monet, Serat ...

[@aiyasartrefuge1395]

I love this comment

[@OneHope4Heaven]

@@aiyasartrefuge1395 thank you! 😀 I'm very passionate about Art & have a lot of respect for people who've created new & innovative techniques to convey feeling, movement, & ambiance.

[@aiyasartrefuge1395]

@@OneHope4Heaven Me too! All my life

[@the1stime]

yes to the red in the street! even red highlights on the chairs😳. love love love van gogh. happy painting!

[@kristantobudiprabowo]

Thank you for sharing.

[@sweethomes674]

Excellent explanations 😊

[@valeriegehling4358]

Really enjoyed this tutorial, especially as I admire Van Gogh. Thanks

[@davesims9377]

Incredible analysis. Thank you very much.❤

[@m77dfk]

Amazing critique! Loved hearing your views, both technical and romantic.

[@apekshalazarus9838]

Amazing Sir 👌👌👌👌

[@michaelr4848]

There is so much good analysis in this and other critiques that Matt has done at the Virtual Instructor website! Watching this type of analysis on many types of media and art objects at the website has helped me as much as the lessons there for the past two years. Thank you so much for these.

[@JessicaCardarelli]

This was so interesting and explained in a way that is easy to understand. I am a novice and just returned to drawing and painting after many many years of being away from it. I started watching art related tutorials a couple of months ago and this is the first time commenting. I just have to say that this is the best and most informative channel I have found! I really appreciate being able to learn from an expert who is also great at presentation!

[@marypartridge5154]

Hi guys I used to be with you so great to see you again

[@chadnah1458]

Man I’m so glad I found this channel. 👍

[@le2382]

I learned so much from this short video, it was very interesting and eye-opening. I’m a beginner with no formal art training, so this is especially useful for me. Thank you very much for this critique!

[@betojdesigns]

Thank you 😊. I always learn something when I watch your videos.

[@AntaraArtCafe]

Wow wonderful painting 😊 you have magical hand 😊 so impressive.. thanks for sharing your amazing artwork with us... stay blessed 💞

[@israaarts5224]

Wonderful! I loved your video. I hope to see more videos like this one. You are one of the best on youtube who make art content. I show your videos to my students and both me and them have been learning a lot.

[@stephaniemcnamara9408]

I'm doing a project on this piece and this was a really great source to come across! I really appreciate how informative and well-produced this is

[@philomenabreen4142]

Learnt so much Thank you

[@catbraunwell6450]

Such great information. Thanks a lot for sharing so generously.

[@deedees1137]

This was wonderful! I truly learned a lot, and appreciated the clear, concise way you explained it all. I hope you do more of these with other paintings!

[@my3babies255]

thank you for sharing your knowledge, I enjoyed this very video much!

[@brettsims931]

I must say... This was so informative, positive and helpful. As you were pointing out the different aspects of this particular work , I was thinking the same thing..This was a very educational tutorial. Thank you so much!..

[@irenemcnamara9699]

This was a delicious critique, as was the painting.

[@casperwilliams6393]

I learn a lot with your tutto, thank you very much.

[@jorgemagarinos2364-t4i]

Interesante descripción. Muchas gracias 👏👏👏

[@auntiealias957]

I really enjoyed this, Matt.

[@ulrike6681]

Thank you very much. It was very interesting and inspiring. Greetings from Vienna, Austria Ulli

[@m3mn0nYT]

At first glance, I didn't notice the tree b/c the yellow really pulls you in but once you pointed it out, there's an exhilarating feeling to it because of its contrast with the yellow light

[@timothydudleysketchartist4619]

excellent

[@voliabrandaolaveneremachad7849]

Really helpful thanks!

[@sanyam7721]

It's super brother

[@c0nstantin86]

8:37 well I'm no architect, but I remember that objects in front are larger then objects in the back. Those tables are getting shorter and shorter. I get that this whole painting pays homage to that woman giving light and warmth in the night like a godess. Poor Van Goh, not knowing women!

[@jamesfuller8022]

The tables are not getting shorter. They are lower in the picture frame following the contour lines.

[@wendilandkammer8368]

While Vincent is my all time favorite artist, I'd never seen this work which isn't a surprise due to the volume of work he produced. What drew my eyes are the colors. The dominant collection of yellows combined to create a large yellow starting point that meets the blues in the sky which is punctuated by stars. The people are hardly noticable, but seem to be almost anchors to the two dominating colors. The trees are what I noticed next. I can see the merging of yellow and blue to make the shades of green. His normal staccato brush strokes that are a significant expression of him talking to the viewer about what he's observing don't seem to be here. At least they are not as noticable. Even in his paintings of his room they are very noticable, so this seems a more quite snap shot of a scene at night. This peice for me has it's center in the yellows. I think he must have loved yellow as when he speaks in it there are many shades that are layered and laid side by side. I'd never really looked at any of his work from a compositional perspective before, so this was different for me and I admit, a bit uncomfortable.

[@maggs131]

I never noticed your laser blue eyes before

[@walesu.k.2108]

Why is this artwork so bright? The original Piece isn’t . His original peace is much darker

[@FireQueBBQ]

Loved this but you are are off on the vanishing point. He was SPOT on. Which is also the brightest SPOT of the painting other than the stars which you never gave proper perspective to. You are hand drawing lines and that's not accurate to give a critique. You should redo this with proper analysis based on the vanishing point of this painting and the stars. The most important aspects of this painting.

[@dunewalks5988]

Wonderful video, thank you. But please pronounce Vincent’s surname correctly. It is pronounced Van Koff.

[@donlocokanal]

Great video content wise. But honestly, you shouldn't pronounce his name "Van Go"...