Breton Bather - Paul Gauguin

Gift of Mrs. Charles B. Goodspeed

European Art Modern Art Paintings Prints

"Breton Bather" by Paul Gauguin (1886/87) Charcoal and pastel, with touches of brush and brown ink, on ivory laid paper (discolored to tan), partially outlined in graphite and squared in black fabricated chalk, with yellow paint residue on verso.

Commentary

"Breton Bather" by Paul Gauguin (1886/87) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include pastel. 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 pastel, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Charcoal and pastel, with touches of brush and brown ink, on ivory laid paper (discolored to tan), partially outlined in graphite and squared in black fabricated chalk, with yellow paint residue on verso) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (58.5 × 35 cm (23 1/16 × 13 13/16 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include pastel. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/55341

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