Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Still-Life?! --- Day 7/276

Walk: de Young (Gauguin: A Spiritual Journey)
Distance: 1.5 miles, Yoga

Vincent Van Gogh, Bedroom at Arles, 1889  Paul Gauguin, Self Portrait with Yellow Christ, 1890-91

So usually when Ciwt thinks of  the artist Paul Gauguin she has images like those above in her mind.
Gauguin's friendship and time in Arles with Van Gogh, his many self portraits, his Yellow Christs and spiritual quest.  Or she thinks of the Tahitian girls he is so famous for painting. 
Paul Gauguin, Arearea, 1892

What she doesn't think of is fairly traditional imagery like a vase of flowers.  But there one one was, a lovely (and intentionally sellable, on order from his Parisian dealer) still-life of European flowers painted while he was in Tahiti.

  Paul Gauguin, Flowers and Cats, 1899

Nor in connection with Gauguin does she think of wood carvings or experimental ceramics.  But they are all there in the de Young's current - and first - Gauguin show running through early April 2019.  In some ways Ciwt found the show disappointing because the Gauguin we all know is only present in a few works. But in other ways presenting Gauguin in a more contemporary and expanded light was stimulating and thought-provoking which is no small feat with famous artists. 

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