Today we will be conversing on behalf of the
painting “The Night Cafe," created by Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh described
The Night Cafe as "one of the ugliest" paintings he had done. In this
episode we go over Vincent Van Gogh’s difficult life leading up to his death,
as well as the visual characteristics of the piece, as well as the artist’s
predicted intent plus his audience’s reaction. Should this self-assessment
influence our perception of its value? Or does the painting's emotional and
thematic impact make it a masterpiece despite—or because of—its intentional
ugliness?