Young Man with a Flower Behind his Ear 1891

Editor: This is Paul Gauguin’s “Young Man with a Flower Behind his Ear,” created in 1891 using oil paints. The palette feels… constrained, yet intense. I’m curious about how the artist's technique works with color here. What stands out to you? Curator: Initially, I am struck by the planar relationships established within the picture's surface. Notice how Gauguin deploys fields of colour, not necessarily to mimic reality, but rather to establish formal echoes and tensions. The skin tones, for example, vibrate against the background. Do you observe how the chromatic scale interacts with the flatness of the picture plane, rather than creating a convincing illusion of three-dimensionality? Editor: Yes, I see that! The blue background pushes forward. The shading seems almost arbitrary, but the face still emerges. It’s like the color creates the form, and flattens it at the same time. Curator: Precisely. Consider also the compositional strategy: the sharp diagonal of the gaze bisects the picture plane. And that flower, seemingly small, disrupts the severity with a touch of chromatic counterpoint. How does that disruption play against your understanding? Editor: It’s like a small rebellion, softening the angularity and adding another layer. I like your attention to formal detail. It helps appreciate the work in ways I wouldn’t have noticed. Curator: Formal relationships provide a foundational language for understanding visuality. These building blocks ultimately open pathways into discussions regarding affect, ideology, and being. Editor: Definitely! Thank you, it’s like having a new set of eyes to view and learn to analyze an artwork like this!