Aha oe feii? (What! Are You Jealous?) - Paul Gauguin

Gift of Edward McCormick Blair

European Art Modern Art Paintings Prints

"Aha oe feii? (What! Are You Jealous?)" by Paul Gauguin (1894) Watercolor monotype from a glass matrix, with brush and white gouache, reddish-brown and black water color, on cream wove paper (an imitation Japanese vellum).

Commentary

"Aha oe feii? (What! Are You Jealous?)" by Paul Gauguin (1894) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Its painted surface guides your eye through color, brushwork, and contrast rather than through narrative alone . Themes to notice include watercolor. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Paul Gauguin is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903. The work is cataloged within a France cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as watercolor, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Watercolor monotype from a glass matrix, with brush and white gouache, reddish-brown and black water color, on cream wove paper (an imitation Japanese vellum)) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (19.5 × 23.2 cm (7 11/16 × 9 3/16 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include watercolor. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/159081

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data