Sketch of Man with a Hat and Fragment of Woman’s Shoulder - Paul Gauguin

Gift of Edward McCormick Blair

"Sketch of Man with a Hat and Fragment of Woman’s Shoulder" by Paul Gauguin (1891/93) Graphite on cream wove irregularly shaped paper, discolored to tan (removed from a sketchbook).

Commentary

"Sketch of Man with a Hat and Fragment of Woman’s Shoulder" by Paul Gauguin (1891/93) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include drawings (visual works). This piece i s 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 drawings (visual works), which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Graphite on cream wove irregularly shaped paper, discolored to tan (removed from a sketchbook)) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (16.3 × 4.3 cm (6 7/16 × 1 3/4 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include drawings (visual works). Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/180892

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