Who did Van Gogh write in 1888 expressing his desire to paint the night sky ?
After finishing " Café Terrace at Night " , Van Gogh wrote a letter to his sister expressing his enthusiasm:He continues , in this same letter , This excerpt forms the basis of the Van Gogh Museum 's curators ' opinion that the painting is a depiction "" of drinkers in the harsh , bright lights of their illuminated facades "" from Maupassant 's novel " Bel Ami " , however , they also note that Maupassant makes no mention of a ' starry sky . '