Sketches of Figures, Hands, and Feet (related to the painting Aha oe feii? [What! Are You Jealous?]) - Paul Gauguin

Gift of Edward McCormick Blair

"Sketches of Figures, Hands, and Feet (related to the painting Aha oe feii? [What! Are You Jealous?])" by Paul Gauguin (1891/93) Black fabricated chalk with pen and brown ink (originally purple) on cream wove paper (removed from a sketchbook).

Commentary

"Sketches of Figures, Hands, and Feet (related to the painting Aha oe feii? [What! Are You Jealous?])" by Paul Gauguin (1891/93) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include pen an d ink drawings. 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 pen and ink drawings, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Black fabricated chalk with pen and brown ink (originally purple) on cream wove paper (removed from a sketchbook)) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (24.8 × 20 cm (9 13/16 × 7 7/8 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include pen and ink drawings. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/159078

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