Sculture+analysis

"May the day come soon when I'll be myself in the woods of an ocean island! To live there in

ecstasy, calmness, and art….There in Tahiti I shall be able to listen to the sweet murmuring

music of my heart's beating in the silence of the beautiful tropical nights."

—Paul Gauguin




 * OBJECTIVE WRITTING (150 A 200 WORDS) OBJECTIVE MEANS FORMAL DESCRIPTION NOT YOUR INTERPRETATION**
 * DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE**
 * FEATURES (hUMAN + ANIMAL)**
 * MATERIALS ( WOOD+ CRACKS)**
 * TECHNIQUE**


 * HISTORICAL CONTEXT**
 * WRITE IN YOUR OWN WORDS PART OF HIS BACKGROUND**


 * WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE OF A SAVAGE IN 1890 AND NOWARDAYS ?**


 * SUBJECTIVE WRITTING (250 A 300 WORDS ) SUBJECTIVE MEANS YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSIONS**
 * WHAT IS YOUR INTERPRETATION OF THE PIECE ?**
 * WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS HIS AIM?**
 * DO YOU THINK HE ACHIEVED IT ?**
 * WHAT IS THE FEELING YOU END UP WITH ?**

HISTORICAL CONTEXT Paul Gauguin may have carved this almost life-sized head as a symbolic self-portrait. He made the sculpture while living in Tahiti, where he studied the native culture and, to a great extent, identified with the local people. Despite his pampered upbringing, Gauguin saw himself as a "savage," untamed by the civilizing force of French society.

In this mysterious sculpture, Gauguin's own features are suggested, combined with Polynesian attributes, such as a broad nose. The hypnotic eyes and the smooth, warm surface of the finely finished wood are captivating. To Western viewers, the sinister horns suggest evil; however, in Tahiti, this attribute resembles a style of hair--bunched in knots at either side of the head--worn by young men as an expression of power.

This intriguing and complex sculpture was probably displayed in Gauguin's home in Tahiti, but it was lost sometime in the 1890s. Until its rediscovery in the 1990s, //Head with Horns // was known only from two photographs that Gauguin pasted into //Noa Noa //, a manuscript meant to explain his painting and Tahitian culture to his European contemporaries.



While primarily known as a painter, Gauguin made sculptures in stone, clay, and wood throughout his career. After he traveled to Tahiti in 1891 and to the Marquesas Islands in 1895, he began to make sculptures in wood that were often modeled after native spirits or gods that were part of the religion and mythology of Pacific Island cultures. How might the impact of this sculpture be different if it was made of stone or clay?

The sculpture is thought to include the features of the artist. Why do you think the artist might have represented himself with horns?

What do you think Gauguin wanted to communicate in this sculpture?

Background Information Paul Gauguin may have carved this almost life-sized head as a symbolic self-portrait. He made the sculpture while living in Tahiti, where he studied the indigenous culture and, to a great extent, identified with the local people. Despite his pampered upbringing in Europe, Gauguin saw himself as a "savage," untamed by the civilizing force of French society.

In this mysterious sculpture, Gauguin's own features are suggested and combined with Polynesian attributes, such as a broad nose. The hypnotic eyes and the smooth, warm surface of the finely finished wood are captivating. To Western viewers, the sinister horns suggest evil; however, it is possible that this attribute resembles a Tahitian style of hair—bunched in knots at either side of the head—worn by young men as an expression of power.

This intriguing and complex sculpture was probably displayed in Gauguin's home in Tahiti, but it was lost sometime in the 1890s. Until its rediscovery in the 1990s, Head with Horns was known only from two photographs that Gauguin pasted into Noa Noa, a manuscript meant to explain Tahitian culture and his paintings to his European contemporaries.



Paul Gauguin. //Tahitian Woman with Evil Spirit // (recto). c. 1900. Oil transfer drawing. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (by exchange), Vincent d’Aquila and Harry Soviak Bequest Fund (by exchange), and acquired through the generosity of The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Endowment for Prints, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Mary M. Spencer, and Stephen Dull, 2014 check the link !!!!!!

About the Artist

Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903)

Writing to his wife in 1887, Paul Gauguin expressed his desire to seek an earthly paradise in the

South Seas. He arrived in Tahiti in 1891. While painting idealized visions of Polynesian culture,

he relied on the Tahitians to provide him with food, models, and female companionship.

Gauguin remained in Tahiti for two years, producing sculptures, woodcuts, and images of young

women in Edenic landscapes. Gauguin first became enthusiastic about painting in the 1860s.

By 1874 he was working with Camille Pissarro, who drew him into the Impressionist circle.

Quickly abandoning Impressionism, Gauguin began using simplified lines and recurring shapes,

covering the picture surface with large areas of flat color bounded by clearly marked lines. In the

fall of 1888, Gauguin joined Vincent van Gogh in Arles, but the two quickly parted ways.

Gauguin abandoned Europe permanently in 1895, having failed to sell many of the works from

his first Tahitian excursion. He died in the Marquesas Islands in 1903.