Caricatures of Gauguin and Governor Gallet, with headpiece from Le sourire - Paul Gauguin

Gift of Walter S. Brewster

European Art Modern Art Paintings Prints

"Caricatures of Gauguin and Governor Gallet, with headpiece from Le sourire" by Paul Gauguin (1900) Watercolor, with black colored pencil, and touches of pen and black ink, over a transfer drawing in black, and wood-block print in black ink with blue watercolor on cream wove paper.

Commentary

"Caricatures of Gauguin and Governor Gallet, with headpiece from Le sourire" by Paul Gauguin (1900) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Its painted surface guides your eye through color, brushwork, and contrast rather than throug h narrative alone. Themes to notice include woodcut. 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 woodcut, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Watercolor, with black colored pencil, and touches of pen and black ink, over a transfer drawing in black, and wood-block print in black ink with blue watercolor on cream wove paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Sheet: 29.8 × 20.4 cm (11 3/4 × 8 1/16 in.); Headpiece: 9.8 × 16.4 cm (3 7/8 × 6 1/2 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include woodcut. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/66094

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