1 / 55

Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin. 1848-1903. Paul Gauguin was a stockbroker living in Paris. In his spare time painted and became involved with the Impressionists, exhibiting at 5 of their shows. In 1883, at the age of 34 he left his job, his wife and his five children to follow his dream of being a painter.

shiela
Download Presentation

Paul Gauguin

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Paul Gauguin 1848-1903

  2. Paul Gauguin was a stockbroker living in Paris. • In his spare time painted and became involved with the Impressionists, exhibiting at 5 of their shows. • In 1883, at the age of 34 he left his job, his wife and his five children to follow his dream of being a painter. • He was great friends with Pissarro. Early life of Gauguin

  3. In 1886 he moved to Brittany to paint and escape civilisation. • Here people tended to flock around him and he gained the role of a master. • He was eccentric , self centred and moody and these were seen as signs of genius. Gauguin in Brittany,1886-1888

  4. Gauguin had spent some time in Peru as a young Child which may explain his interest in exotic places. • In 1887 he travelled to Panama in Central America and Martinique in the Caribbean to paint. • He wanted to experience a primitive culture. • However he returned from here ill and disappointed. Paris-Central America 1887

  5. Back in Pont Aven he began to paint in a new Style influenced by • Cezanne • Japanese Prints (he saw as “simple and composed”) Back again to Pont Aven , Brittany,Feburary,1888.

  6. Didn’t paint too closely from nature rather drew ideas from it. • Shapes became flat areas surrounded by strong outlines. • Used only the boldest/strongest colours from Nature. • No shadows • No Linear Perspective. Gauguin’s new style

  7. Didn’t paint too closely from nature rather drew ideas from it.

  8. Shapes became flat areas surrounded by strong outlines.

  9. Used only the boldest/strongest colours from Nature.

  10. No shadows No Linear Perspective

  11. We will now study in detail what is said to be Gauguin’s first Masterpiece, Vision after the Sermon , Jacob Wrestling with the Angel. • This painting is a clear indication of his change in style and the influence of Japanese Prints, Cezanne and Artists like the symbolists. Vision after the Sermon.

  12. Vision after the Sermon1888

  13. Subject matter • Gauguin was impressed by the simple faith of these Breton women. • It is not a religious picture so much as a picture about religious people. • He attempts to show the strength of their faith. Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  14. Subject matter • The scene was inspired by the piety of these peasant women and their response to a sermon they have just heard, which causes them to have a vision about the struggle between good and evil. • The scene could be described as anti –naturalistic as it is based on the woman’s vision of Jacob wrestling the angel. Vision after the Sermon, 1888.

  15. Theme • It represents not only Jacob’s struggles as seen in the minds of the pious Bretons, but Gauguin’s own struggle, in trying out a new painting technique and style to convey his new ideals. Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  16. Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  17. Composition • The women form a curve on the lower left of the painting making a continuous line by their white caps and dark dresses. Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  18. Composition • This is counter-balanced by the strong diagonal of the tree trunk. • Its leaves lead the viewer to the upper right hand corner of the canvas, hence creates a frame for the focal point of the painting, the women’s vision. Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  19. Composition • The diagonal sweep of the apple tree a pictorial device borrowed from Japanese art. • It divides the real from the imaginary. Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  20. Style • He rejects traditional perspective, crops the foreground figures, flattens form and rejects the use of shadow showing the influence of what? • Japanese Prints Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  21. Style • Style • The cropped figure of the priest is a feature borrowed from the Japanese art and Degas. • The head-dress and collars are treated as flat white areas shadowed with pale blue. Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  22. Style • This profile of the praying woman shows features borrowed from Japanese art, folk art and medieval stained glass. • He has simplified figures and used flat un-modelled (no use of shading or 3-D) areas of bright colour. Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  23. Colour • Unmixed colours are applied in large areas, un-naturalistic colours...red, white, black, blue and brown. • Solid shapes are outlined by a blue black line. Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  24. Colour • The face is barely modelled, it is boldly highlighted in white. • The lower lip, formed with the crimson strokes picks up the crimson in the background. Vision after the sermon, 1888.

  25. In 1888, on the invitation of Van Gogh, he moved to Arles in the South of France, to help Vincent begin an Artists colony. • However this trip ended in complete disaster and he returned to Paris. Gauguin in Arles, 1888

  26. Subject Matter The Yellow Christ 1889 • Inspired by the religious shrines , Gauguin modelled the figure of the crucified Christ on a wooden Christ he saw in a church in Pont Aven. The Yellow Christ 1888/1889

  27. Subject Matter • Gauguin was deeply impressed by profoundly superstitious Catholicism of Breton peasants. • This scene focused on the strength of the Breton women’s faith, representing the power of their inner vision (like in vision after the Sermon) which brings to reality Christ’s suffering. The Yellow Christ,1889

  28. Subject Matter The Yellow Christ 1889 • The Sailor climbing over the stone wall is a little incidental detail, giving a sense of everyday life. The Yellow Christ 1888/1889

  29. Style The Yellow Christ 1889 • Gauguin sought a unity in his painting in which line, colour and colour all contributed to the mood he was hoping to express. The Yellow Christ 1888/1889

  30. Style • Figures are simplified almost childlike in his style. • It is non-naturalistic imaginary forms are combined with a stylized landscape. The Yellow Christ 1888/1889

  31. Colour • Painted with flat areas of un-modelled colour and bold outline. • The colour of the main focus of the painting, the yellow Christ is echoed throughout the yellows and oranges of the landscape. The Yellow Christ 1888/1889

  32. Colour The Yellow Christ 1889 • Treated in non naturalistic heightened colour, the background of depicts the village of Pont Aven. • Colours do not fade into the background (he does not use aerial perspective) The Yellow Christ 1888/1889

  33. Technique • Technique is crude and primitive. The Yellow Christ 1888/1889

  34. Composition The Yellow Christ 188 • The cross placed slightly off centre, dominates the entire painting, spanning both height and breadth of the canvas. The Yellow Christ 1888/1889

  35. Composition The Yellow Christ 1889 • Balancing the strong verticals formed by the arms of Christ the picture is divided horizontally into • Background • Middle ground • Foreground The Yellow Christ 1888/1889

  36. He longed for a more primitive life and moved to Tahiti in 1891 • Returned to Paris in 1893 penniless • Left again for Tahiti in 1895 never to return to France again. Tahiti 1881-1883 1895-1903

  37. Tahitian Women on the Beach, (1891)

  38. Tahitian people represented to him the mystery of human existence. • Paintings are exotic not picturesque. • He seeks to express in his work the life of the people. • He suggests a primitive lost paradise Characteristics of Gauguin’s Tahitian work.

  39. Gauguin's painting methods • Different from Impressionists who applied colours in small dabs and Van Gogh who used rich, thick impastos and expressionistic brushstrokes. • He used broad areas of colour. Flat but with subtle variations in hue. Woman with Flower 1891

  40. Gauguin’s painting methods • He added wax to make paint smooth. • Paint is seldom thick, being thinnest near the edges of forms. • Forms are often outlined with Prussian blue and earth red. • He applied paint thinly with palette knife or paintbrush. The Midday Nap, (1894)

  41. Gauguin's painting methods • He often applied thin paint on un-primed hessian or sackcloth not canvas. • The rough weave of the canvas is often visible through the paint. Woman with Flower 1891

  42. Gauguin's painting methods Perhaps these techniques (his use of thin paint and sackcloth) were a consequence of his poverty. Woman with Flower 1891

  43. Subject Matter • The women of Tahiti with their classic gentle beauty Fascinated Gauguin. • He idealised them comparing their behaviour and manner to the women of Ancient Greece. Two Tahitian Woman with Mango Blossoms, 1899

  44. Subject matter and Theme. • The two women , dressed in a South Sea manner, represent Gauguin’s dream of an idyllic society Two Tahitian Woman with Mango Blossoms, 1899

  45. Theme • Gauguin presents a view of the islands as a serene and peaceful haven but in reality he never found the heaven on earth that he sought there Two Tahitian Woman with Mango Blossoms, 1899

  46. Composition • The women fill the whole canvas. • They carry a basket of mango blossoms, the most typical flower of the tropics, like an offering of their innocence and purity of spirit . Two Tahitian Woman with Mango Blossoms, 1899

  47. Style and technique • Forms are often outlined with Prussian blue and earth red. • He applied paint thinly with palette knife or paintbrush. Two Tahitian Woman with Mango Blossoms, 1899

  48. Style and technique • He used broad areas of colour. Flat but with subtle variations in hue. Two Tahitian Woman with Mango Blossoms, 1899

  49. However Tahiti was not the primitive , mysterious and unaffected Paradise that Gauguin’s paintings suggest.European’s were everywhere on the island. • Gauguin was often very short on money whilst on the Island, he was at one time so deeply in debt that he tried to poison himself. The Real Tahiti

  50. He used the Tahitian people as a vehicle for his sense of mystery of human existence. Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going to? 1897

More Related