Artwork Page for The Large Tree

Details / Information for The Large Tree

The Large Tree

1891

Paul Gauguin

(French, 1848–1903)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
oil on fabric
Measurements
Framed: 92.4 x 112.7 x 6.4 cm (36 3/8 x 44 3/8 x 2 1/2 in.); Unframed: 74 x 92.8 cm (29 1/8 x 36 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Barbara Ginn Griesinger 1975.263
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Gauguin positions four women in a friezelike sequence seeking shelter under the dark green leaves of a large tree while the leaves of the second tree add a decorative pattern to the pink thatched roof. With his brush, he captures contrasting elements of the tropical climate, sending the viewer into the cool shade to escape the hot sun.

Description

Disgusted with the materialism of European society, Gauguin abandoned his family and career as a stockbroker and departed for Tahiti in 1891. This canvas is among the first paintings he completed on the island. Its rich colors and stylized figures were intended to be both symbolic and mysterious, evoking private thoughts and emotions. “I obtain symphonies,” he wrote, “harmonies that represent nothing real in the absolute sense of the word.”
A horizontally oriented oil painting with broad brushstrokes depicts a tropical landscape. Left, two women sit beneath a large gray tree. Centrally, a woman in a red wrap stands facing a tall palm tree and a seated figure. In the middle ground, a building with a pink thatched roof and blue walls contains a figure in a doorway. Lush green and blue trees fill the background under a pale sky.

The Large Tree

1891

Paul Gauguin

(French, 1848–1903)
France, 19th century

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