La Vague (Wave) by Paul Gauguin (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
La Vague
Source: Wikimedia Commons
French artist Paul Gauguin is best known for his so-called Tahitian paintings, produced during his trips to Martinique, Tahiti, and the Marquesas Islands. However, he also produced many fine works of art while living in France. Gauguin was especially inspired by the region of Brittany, which he believed had a “savage, primitive quality.”

La Vague (which translates to The Wave) was painted during one of his trips to Brittany. According to my research, the painting represents the beginning of a major shift in Gauguin’s work, as he began to pursue a less realistic, more symbolic approach to art. In this piece, Gauguin challenges many elements of conventional Western art.

The first unusual element of La Vague is the perspective. The piece is painted from a bird’s eye perspective, giving an unusual sense of proportion and scale (in point of fact, Gauguin actually sketched the scene from a bluff that overlooked the beach). The fact that there is no horizon in the painting also produces an interesting effect, destabilizing the piece and dispensing with the clear, narrative energy that most paintings produce.

Gauguin’s use of color is also particularly interesting and vibrant. La Vague employs a literal rainbow of blues, greens, and pinks to create depth and visual interest on the surface of the water. The beach, represented in a stunning shade of red, and the black rocks provide dramatic contrast. According to my research, the red also references the life-giving energy of blood, which is symbolized by the maternal energy of the earth. The overall effect is to challenge the way the viewer brings the water, challenging them to access the image on a deeper level.

At its core, La Vague is a visionary piece, possessed of powerful spiritual energy. Like many of Gauguin’s paintings, La Vague has its roots in the psychological realm, appealing to the primal human emotions and feelings that Gauguin was so interested in.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges by Henri Matisse (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges Source: Pinterest French artist Henri Matisse is rather famous for his paintings of goldfish. In fact, one of his most famous paintings, entitled Goldfish , depicts several of the aforementioned fish swimming in a bowl. Matisse is one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. His work is closely associated with the Fauvist movement and is generally characterized by great energy and rich, intense colors. Based on my research , Matisse began painting goldfish after he traveled to North Africa. In Morocco, Matisse observed locals watching goldfish swim in their bowls as they sunk into a meditative state. The fish subsequently became a symbol for this sense of tranquility, coming to represent an idyllic version of the world only accessible through joyous day-dreams. These calming fish are prominent in this painting, which is entitled Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges (which translates to The Cat With Red Fishes ). However, the serene energy of the fish
Read more

Mural La Plena by Rafael Tufiño (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Mural la Plena Source: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Today I want to chat about a monumental piece of art that I recently had the pleasure of seeing at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. As the name suggests, Mural La Plena is a massive mural, fifteen by thirty feet in size, that was created by Puerto Rican artist Rafael Tufiño to commemorate la plena, a wildly popular genre of music that was born in the city of Ponce around 1900. The mural, which might appear abstract or incomprehensible to a viewer unfamiliar with the subject matter, illustrates the lyrics of popular plena songs. For example, the blue-green figure that dominates the upper half of the mural represents the hurricane from the plena “Temporal,” which mourns the destruction caused by a storm. Plena, as a genre, tells stories. According to my research , the lyrics come from current events, re-telling the stories that affected the lives of the people of Ponce. It began as a way for people of low socio-economic sta
Read more

Five Puerto Rican Artists You Should Know

-
Image
The island of Puerto Rico has a long and vibrant artistic tradition. Western, Indigenous, and African cultures have all left their mark on Puerto Rican art, creating a colorful and unique visual legacy. While Puerto Rican artists have demonstrated their excellence throughout the years— from the creators of the captivating Taino petroglyphs to the sophisticated and subtle works of the Modernist painters—Puerto Rican art has received little attention from art historians and the wider art world. Here are five underappreciated Puerto Rican artists that you should know: 1. José Campeche José Campeche is often known as the first Puerto Rican painter in the Western history of fine arts. He was primarily known for his religious paintings and his portraits of elite Puerto Ricans, and today his work is recognized as some of the finest examples of Rococo art produced in the Americas. Campeche’s personal story is also inspiring. The son of a slave who had purchased his own freedom, Campech
Read more