Two Breton Girls by the Sea
Paul Gauguin1889
The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
After his short stay with van Gogh in Arles, Gauguin once again chose Brittany as the site of his work during 1889 and 1890. Two Breton Girls by the Sea is one of the best examples of this period, and its planar use of bright red, green and blue pigments speaks of the creation of his "Cloisonnism", a style characterized by distinctive outlines, that became his signature. This work was created in the Brittany town of Le Pouldu during the autumn of 1889 and depicts two young girls wearing the clothing of the region. A preparatory sketch drawn in pastels showing only the two figures is currently in a private collection in London. Here, the large-scale completed composition brings the forms of these two girls to the very edge of the image's front left, while its flat application of pigments was undoubtedly a revolutionary form for the period. Gauguin took this style one step further after his 1891 departure for Tahiti. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no.87)
- Title: Two Breton Girls by the Sea
- Creator Lifespan: 1848 - 1903
- Creator Nationality: French
- Creator Gender: Male
- Creator Death Place: Atuona, Hiva'Oa, Marquesas Islands
- Creator Birth Place: Paris
- Date Created: 1889
- Location Created: France
- Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings: Signed and dated lower right: P Gauguin 89
- Provenance: Kojiro Matsukata; Sequestered by the French Government, 1944; Returned to Japan, 1959.
- Physical Dimensions: w736 x h925 mm
- Painter: Paul Gauguin
- Object title (Japanese): 海辺に立つブルターニュの少女たち
- Object notes (Japanese): アルルでのゴッホとの短い共同生活の後、ゴーガンは、1889年から翌年にかけて再びブルターニュを制作の場とした。この《海辺に立つブルターニュの少女たち》はその時期の作風を良く示す秀作の一つで、赤、青、緑といった鮮やかな色彩による平面構成は、「クロワゾニスム」と呼ばれる輪郭線のはっきりしたゴーガン特有の様式の成立を物語っている。おそらく1889年秋にブルターニュのル・プールデュで制作されたもので、二人の少女はこの地方特有の衣裳を身につけている。この二人の少女の部分のみを描いたパステルによる習作が知られているが（ロンドン、個人蔵）、彼女らの姿を画面左に寄せつつ最前面へもってきたこの完成作の大胆な構図は、平面的な賦彩とともに、当時としては革新的なものであったに違いない。このようなゴーガンの作風は、更に1891年以後タヒチにおいて一層はっきりしたものとなって行く。(出典: 国立西洋美術館名作選. 東京, 国立西洋美術館, 2006. cat. no. 87 ）
- Artist Name (Japanese): ゴーガン、ポール
- Type: Paintings
- Rights: Matsukata Collection, http://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/information/privacy.html
- External Link: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
- Medium: Oil on canvas
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