Two Paintings by Paul Gaugin

The purpose of this research is to examine two paintings by Paul Gaugin, A Swineherd, Brittany (1888), and Ia Orana Maria (1891). The plan of the research will be to set forth the background and context in which Gaugin created each painting, and then to compare and contrast analytically the content and apparent intent informing them, both intrinsically and as part of the larger scheme of Gaugin's body of work.

Gaugin's A Swineherd, Brittany, an oil painting on canvas, hangs in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Measuring 29" x 36(", A Swineherd, Brittany is a horizontally oriented picture depicting a pastoral landscape that would have been familiar to Gaugin during his stay in Pont-Aven in Brittany. In the right foreground, a rocky pasture of grass along either a pond or a river, are the figures of a swineherd and two pigs. The swineherd stands before a rocky embankment as the pigs graze. In the middle distance on the left is a cow that appears to have its head raised, perhaps mooing; the udder is swollen, ready to be milked. Further in the distance, perhaps across the lake hidden by the rocky embankment, is a country village; the church spire, as well as a number of rooftops and buildings that, together with rows of trees, define three village streets can be made out. In the distance, beyond the village, are the rolling agricultural hills that overlook the village.

The time of day appears to be fairly late afternoon, given the fact that the light is hitting the foreground

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rooftops and walls of the village buildings, colors are well-defined geometric planes of white, gray, and blue, with no brush strokes evident. The whole effect is a credible perspective within the context of the work. The relationship of the painting to the whole of Gaugin's work can be inferred from the fact that the scene is colorful, pleasant, plentiful. This is no drought-ridden landscape but a lush, verdant, bucolic picture of agricultural life. It is a simple life, to be sure, but it is not a hard-scrabble one. Above all, it is not sophisticated and urban but rather removed from complex trappings of modern life. There are no farm implements, not even a shepherd's crook. One may assume the swineherd will have a little job of work to do getting the pigs and cow back toward the barn; that is perhaps what he is thinking about while he holds his chin in his hand. But that is the most complex thought he will have to bear; his is not a life of tension. The presentation as a whole is consistent with Gaugin's determination to rid himself of contact with sophisticated life. In its pastoral simplicity, A Swineherd, Brittany is consistent, too, with what Pelfrey describes as Gaugin's declared hope that he and his followers could "learn

Category: Arts - T