Paul Gauguin

This piece is presented in MoMA fifth floor at The Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Galleries. The contextual background of this piece was Gauguin depicting one of his closest friends called Meijer de Hann, a Dutch painter. Hann is in the pose of a thinker with two books in front of him on the desk, reflecting his preoccupations with religion and philosophy.

I am impressed by this piece because of its interesting composition. The main character seems not as important as the two books on the table. Paul Gauguin intentionally let the table edge cuts the entire painting into two: the figure in dark background at the books on a light-colored table. Originally, this piece gives me an impression of calm and still. But after looking deep into it, I feel depression, a sense of insecure, and confusion. The painting has a power that brings its viewers into the think tank, which surprised me as I realized my change in mood.

Other than composition, Paul’s use of color is also eye-catching because of the high saturation. But the entire picture is never too crowded nor too empty. The artist is able to find a balance point in composition as well as in color usage.
Gauguin is addicted to making self-portraits. His works usually convey nothing big but his stories and emotions. It’s easy to feel bored at a glance but after taking a deeper look into it, viewers could usually be brought into the scene or the environment.