15314 Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)

Description of Paul Gauguin’s painting "Woman Holding a Fetus (1893)"

Gauguin painted this painting while on the island of Tahiti. In the background are two ordinary huts located in a settlement of islanders. In the foreground stands a young woman, a Tahitian woman, holding a fruit. This fruit is a mango, distinguished by its lemon-greenish color. Many critics note that the fruit itself resembles a vessel, and some researchers of the artist’s work are sure that this is the very real vessel for water, carved in a gourd. Thus, the woman may be about to go for water, holding the vessel by the rope placed on top of the fruit.

According to a certain version, the heroine of the painting is a young Tahitian woman Tehura, who was the wife of Gauguin, but between them there was no ceremony of marriage. Her face has expressive features, her look is serious and concentrated. She has dark skin, painted in gold and brown colors, which stands out against the general background of the painting. Her body silhouette is described with a clear line that makes her seem three-dimensional and expressive. The landscape behind the woman looks rather flat and generalized.

The artist has depicted neither the rays of the sun, nor the movement of the air. On the contrary, the entire painting is saturated with tropical heat, which filled the huts, grass and trees, as well as frozen on the skin of the islander dressed in a skirt in deep red. The pattern depicted on her clothing merges with the patterns of the leaves on the trees. This gives her a kind of mystery, making her an integral part of the surrounding nature. The painting is particularly poetic, full of vivid colors and exotic motifs. You can feel the strong connection between people and nature, seemingly eternal and unbreakable. According to rumors, the woman was pregnant by Gauguin, which is hinted at by the fetus she is holding in her hands.