Head of a Tahitian Woman - Paul Gauguin

Gift of Jamee and Marshall Field

European Art Modern Art Paintings Prints

"Head of a Tahitian Woman" by Paul Gauguin (1891/93, with later additions 1894/95) Pen and brush and black ink, with green, blue, yellow and white gouache, over pen and brown ink and touches of graphite, on parchment.

Commentary

"Head of a Tahitian Woman" by Paul Gauguin (1891/93, with later additions 1894/95) 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 prints and drawing. 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 prints and drawing, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Pen and brush and black ink, with green, blue, yellow and white gouache, over pen and brown ink and touches of graphite, on parchment) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (31.8 × 24.2 cm (12 9/16 × 9 9/16 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include prints and drawing. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/220046

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