Reclining Tahitian (fragment)
1894
Medium
Pastel monotype, with touches of pastel, on cream wove Japanese paper, laid down on cream wove Japanese paper
Dimensions
Image/primary/secondary support: 20.4 × 11.7 cm (8 1/16 × 4 5/8 in.)
Classification
monotype
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
148411
Art Historical Context
In 1894, Paul Gauguin created *Reclining Tahitian (fragment)* during his second stay in Tahiti, a period in his career as a Post-Impression artist. Having fled the industrialization of Europe for what he romanticized as a "primitive" paradise, Gauguin immersed himself in Polynesian culture, producing vivid works that blended European techniques with exotic subjects. This intimate pastel monotype depicts a reclining Tahitian woman, his fascination with the human form and island life—though as a fragment, it invites viewers to ponder its unfinished narrative. Gauguin's innovative use of pastel ...
About the Artist
Paul Gauguin · 1848–1903
Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) was a French Post-Impressionist painter whose bold experiments with color, form, and subject matter made him one of the most influential figures in the transition from 19th-century art to modernism. His rejection of European civilization for the perceived authenticity of 'primitive' cultures established an archetype of artistic exile that continues to resonate. Gauguin's ...