Paul Gauguin
This painting dates from the two months Paul Gauguin spent living and working with Vincent van Gogh at the Yellow House in Arles, France, during which Gauguin painted 17 canvases. Out of them, this one is the most enigmatic. Its setting is the public park opposite the house. Gauguin used a sketchbook to plan the principal figures, the details of their headdresses, and their grouping, as well as the fountain, bench and conical shrubs wrapped against the frost, all of which he could have observed from his bedroom window. The figure on the left resembles Madame Ginoux, the proprietress of a local café. She clutches her shawl to her mouth against the cold wind, known in the region as the mistral. Together with her blank eyes, this gesture suggests stifled grief, reinforcing the sense that she is leading a solemn cortege.
P.S. We all know Paul Gauguin's "exotic" Tahitian paintings, but there is an alternative look at his travels. Was he a master or ... a monster? If you would like to learn more about Gauguin and Post-Impressionism itself, check out our 101 Post-Impressionism online course.