Three Studies of a Man Wearing a Hat [recto]
1884-1888
![Three Studies of a Man Wearing a Hat [recto] by Paul Gauguin](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/nga/thumb/three-studies-of-a-man-wearing-a-hat-recto-nga-74213.webp)
Medium
crayon on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 16.9 x 11.7 cm (6 5/8 x 4 5/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
The Armand Hammer Collection
Accession Number
1991.217.38.a
Art Historical Context
Paul Gauguin's *Three Studies of a Man Wearing a Hat [recto]*, created between 1884 and 1888, offers a into the artist's early exploratory phase. During this period, Gaug, a former stockbroker turned full-time painter, was breaking away from Impressionism toward the bold colors and symbolic forms of Post-Impressionism. These three quick sketches on a modest sheet of wove paper capture a hat-wearing figure from different angles, likely drawn from life or memory, Gauguin's fascination with human and simplified contours. Rendered in crayon—a versatile medium allowing for vibrant hues and fluid l...
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 ...