Night Caféc. 1923 · Study 2006.139

Context from the museum

Following Cubist principles, this painting depicts a table from multiple perspectives, providing different views of various objects simultaneously. Louis Casimir Ladislas Markus was born in Warsaw, Poland, into a Jewish family that had converted to Catholicism. In 1903, he moved to Paris where he met poet Guillaume Apollinaire and artists Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. He then began experimenting with Cubism. Also of Polish descent, Apollinaire had changed his own name and urged the artist to change his name to Marcoussis after a French village. The yellow hot air balloon and the French flag glimpsed out of the window pay homage to the artist’s adopted homeland.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

The French poet Guillaume Apollinaire urged the artist to change his name to Marcoussis, after a French village south of Paris. The artist was born Louis Casimir Ladislas Markus in Warsaw, Poland, and moved to Paris in 1903.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for Night Café is 88.1 cm wide and 70.5 cm high, equivalent to approximately 34.7 × 27.8 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.25:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.62 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 29.4% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 106.0 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Night Café in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on canvas, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 88.1 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?