{"product_id":"paul-gauguin-women-and-a-white-horse","title":"Paul Gauguin Women and a White Horse","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe painting in your uploaded image is \u003cb\u003eWomen and a White Horse\u003c\/b\u003e by \u003cb\u003ePaul Gauguin\u003c\/b\u003e, painted in \u003cb\u003e1903\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eKey facts\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul style=\"margin-top: 0in;\" type=\"disc\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eArtist:\u003c\/b\u003e Paul Gauguin, French, 1848–1903\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eTitle:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eWomen and a White Horse\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDate:\u003c\/b\u003e 1903\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMedium:\u003c\/b\u003e Oil on canvas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eOriginal size:\u003c\/b\u003e 73.3 × 91.7 cm, or approximately 28⅞ × 36⅛ inches\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eCollection:\u003c\/b\u003e Museum of Fine Arts, Boston\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAccession number:\u003c\/b\u003e 48.547\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eCurrent display status:\u003c\/b\u003e The original is listed as \u003cb\u003enot currently on view\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l5 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSignature:\u003c\/b\u003e “P. Gauguin 1903,” at lower right\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe authoritative museum record is the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/ai\/thread\/5c3cf007-f47a-47bb-9e00-cc725ab88e49\"\u003eMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston collection page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhere and when it was painted\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eGauguin completed the work in \u003cb\u003e1903 on Hiva Oa\u003c\/b\u003e, one of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. He had moved there in 1901 and spent the final years of his life in the settlement of Atuona. The painting was made shortly before his death in May 1903.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIt is therefore a very late Gauguin work, created during a period when he was seriously ill and increasingly preoccupied with spirituality, death, and the meaning of the tropical environment around him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat is shown\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe composition includes:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul style=\"margin-top: 0in;\" type=\"disc\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eThree women moving or standing in a lush landscape\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eA pale or white horse with a rider\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eDense tropical vegetation in intense greens, oranges, reds, blues, and ochres\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eA stream or watery foreground passage\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eA small cross on the distant hillside\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eA mountainous background compressed behind the figures\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe scene is not painted as a straightforward naturalistic landscape. Gauguin arranged the figures, vegetation, and colors almost like a decorative frieze. The flattened depth and strong color divisions make the image feel symbolic and dreamlike rather than documentary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eMeaning of the white horse\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe Museum of Fine Arts notes that \u003cb\u003ewhite horses in Gauguin’s work can be associated with death or transcendence\u003c\/b\u003e. In this painting, the horse is also the strongest pale form against the saturated tropical colors, making it a visual and symbolic focus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe horse may suggest several overlapping ideas:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul style=\"margin-top: 0in;\" type=\"disc\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eA transition between life and death\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eSpiritual or religious symbolism\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eA mythical presence within the landscape\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eA contrast between the ordinary human figures and a more allegorical world\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe painting does not provide one definitive explanation, so the horse’s meaning remains deliberately open.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe cross and Gauguin’s burial place\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe small cross on the hill is particularly significant. According to the MFA, it refers to the \u003cb\u003ecemetery above Atuona\u003c\/b\u003e, where Gauguin himself was buried shortly after completing the painting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThat detail gives the landscape a strong autobiographical and mortality-related dimension. The work can be understood partly as a late meditation on:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul style=\"margin-top: 0in;\" type=\"disc\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eThe place where Gauguin had chosen to live\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eChristian missionary influence in Polynesia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eHis own approaching death\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003eThe tension between earthly life and spiritual transcendence\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe cross also complicates the image historically. Gauguin often presented Polynesia through an idealized, personal mythology, but the islands were living within a French colonial and missionary system. The painting is therefore not simply an untouched view of “paradise.” It reflects both the landscape itself and a European artist’s constructed interpretation of it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eStyle and visual analysis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eSeveral features are characteristic of Gauguin’s later work:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col style=\"margin-top: 0in;\" start=\"1\" type=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFlattened space\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe background, figures, and vegetation are compressed into broad bands rather than arranged through conventional Renaissance perspective.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eUnnatural, expressive color\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe red-orange foliage, turquoise and deep blue passages, yellow earth, and emerald vegetation are emotionally and symbolically chosen rather than strictly observed.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDecorative patterning\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe plants and flowers form large rhythmic areas of color. The landscape behaves almost like textile or tapestry design.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSimplified figures\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe women are not individualized through detailed portraiture. They function as part of the overall symbolic arrangement.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l0 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA tension between everyday life and allegory\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe scene appears calm and ordinary, yet the horse, cross, and heightened colors give it a solemn, almost visionary quality.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eProvenance\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe museum records the following ownership history:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul style=\"margin-top: 0in;\" type=\"disc\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eGustave Fayet\u003c\/b\u003e, Igny, France\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e1906:\u003c\/b\u003e Acquired by Carl Moll in Vienna\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eOctober 31, 1908:\u003c\/b\u003e Sold to Bernheim-Jeune et Fils in Paris\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSeptember 14, 1909:\u003c\/b\u003e Sold to Ambroise Vollard\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e1929:\u003c\/b\u003e Paul Rosenberg and Co., Paris\/New York\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eOctober 24, 1929:\u003c\/b\u003e Sold to John Taylor Spaulding in Boston\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e1948:\u003c\/b\u003e Bequeathed by Spaulding to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"LatinArte","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56707971875188,"sku":null,"price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/7963\/9156\/files\/Gauguinlibarary.png?v=1793829458","url":"https:\/\/latinarte.shop\/products\/paul-gauguin-women-and-a-white-horse","provider":"LatinArte","version":"1.0","type":"link"}