Paul Gauguin
This painting was produced in 1892 during Paul Gauguin's first two-year sojourn in Tahiti. Remote from civilization on this South Sea island, he hoped (in vain) to find a primordial paradise. Under the prevailing conditions on the island, which had been influenced by missionaries and was under French colonial rule, there was a melancholy atmosphere that he often transferred to his models. This is also evident in the Dresden painting. Close-up views of two sculptural figures of monumental beauty dominate the pictorial space. The similarity of their appearance suggests that the same model was used for both figures. An initial version of the motif, entitled Two Women on the Beach, is held in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
Black contours, abstract patterns on their clothing, twigs, and fruits as well as the boxes at the edge of the picture, reinforce its decorative intensity. Gauguin made use of strong primary colors, which he used as fundamental design elements in this synthesis of form and line. The complementary contrast of yellow to blue and red to green intensify the pictorial effect and give an impression of shadowless sunlight, without aiming to reproduce the direct optical impression. In the absence of a central perspective, the density of the color values increases in importance. The bright yellow ground, presumably the patio of a house, draws the viewer's gaze into the distance: a wooden column on the right marks the transition to the landscape, which is only alluded to as a narrow strip of greenish-blue. With his oeuvre, Gauguin influenced not only Les Nabis and Symbolism, he also became a cofounder of Synthetism and paved the way for Expressionism.
We present this beautiful work thanks to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. <3
P.S. Was Paul Gauguin a master or a monster? Read about his stay in Tahiti here.
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