Still Life with Profile of Laval

Gauguin painted this unusual image in Paris in late 1886, after his first visit to Pont-Aven, where he befriended the artist Charles Laval. Laval's profile, abruptly cut off on the right, reflects Gauguin's admiration for the off-center, cropped compositions of Edgar Degas. The parallel brush strokes and outlined forms of the fruit suggest the influence of Paul Cézanne. The tall dark form is a ceramic by Gauguin and typifies his highly original experiments with new media. He was especially fond of this pot, the current location of which is unknown.