// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did "The Green Christ" say to the tree? Leaf me alone.
| The Green Christ | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Artist | Paul Gauguin |
| Year | 1889 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 92 cm × 73 cm (36 in × 29 in) |
| Location | |
The Green Christ (in French: Le Christ vert) is an oil-on-canvas painting executed by Paul Gauguin on November 20, 1889 in Pont-Aven, Brittany.[1] It depicts a Breton woman at the foot of a calvary, or green-tinted sculpture of Christ's crucifixion. This image emphasizes both Breton culture and religious symbolism.
Background & cultural context
[edit]
Gauguin created this work while living in Pont-Aven, Brittany. Topographically, the site depicted is the Atlantic coast at Le Pouldu. But the calvary depicted is an amalgam of several calvaries from different places; the cross is based upon that in the centre of Névez, a community close to Pont-Aven, located several miles from the coast, and the figure of Christ is based upon the calvarie at Briec, also at some distance from the sea.[2][3][4] The Breton people, known for their strong Catholic faith and adherence to traditional customs, inspired Gauguin’s portrayal of their authentic spirituality in The Green Christ.[citation needed]
Composition & style
[edit]The Green Christ depicts a Breton woman kneeling at the foot of a green crucifix. This woman wears traditional, modest Breton clothing and holds a black lamb in her left hand.[1] The statue of Christ, shown after the crucifixion, has an elongated, motionless body supported by the three Marys, whose expressions are somber.
_1889.jpg)
Interpretation & symbolism
[edit]Rather than striving for realism, Gauguin sought to convey emotionally the condition of human suffering through non-naturalistic form and color.[5]: 283–85
Other works
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Dorra, Henri (2007-02-20). The Symbolism of Paul Gauguin: Erotica, Exotica, and the Great Dilemmas of Humanity. Univ of California Press. pp. 131–133. ISBN 978-0-520-24130-5.
- ↑ Dario Gamboni, Paul Gauguin: The Mysterious Centre of Thought, Reaktion Books, 2014, pp. 135, 157, 280, 281
- ↑ Jean-François Staszak, Géographies de Gauguin, Editions Bréal, 2003 (French), ISBN 2749520754, 9782749520759, pp. 47-48
- ↑ Catherine Puget, Peintres de la Bretagne et quête spirituelle, Musée de Pont Aven, 2006 (French), pp. 9, 25, 48
- ↑ Silverman, Debora (2000). Van Gogh and Gauguin : the search for sacred art. Internet Archive. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-28243-1.
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