|
Paul Gauguin
1848-1903 Day of the gods Completion Date: 1894 Gallery: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA When Gauguin returned to France in 1893, he spent most of his time in Paris promoting his work and writing and illustrating Noa Noa, a fictionalized account of his Tahitian experience. Day of the Gods (Mahana No Atua), one of the very few paintings Gauguin completed during this period, is closely related to his literary project. Set in a Tahitian landscape by the sea, the composition is divided into three horizontal bands. At the top, islanders perform a ritual near a towering sculpture. In the middle band, three symmetrically arranged figures are placed against a field of pink earth in poses that may signify birth, life, and death. The lower portion of the composition evokes brilliant, contrasting hues reflected in the water. Gauguin's Post-Impressionist style, defined by a decreasing tendency to depict real objects and the expressive use of flat, curving shapes of vibrant color, influenced many abstract painters of the early 20th century. ...
Our Paul Gauguin brochure |
|
