Portrait of a woman (Marie Lagadu) 1888

Paul Gauguin made this portrait of Marie Lagadu, the caretaker of his lodgings in Le Pouldu, using oil on canvas. The painting is dominated by the sitter’s close-up face, her gaze slightly averted. This gives the portrait an intimate, yet detached quality. Gauguin's use of non-naturalistic color is striking: skin tones are rendered with hues of purple, blue, and pink. The background, visible through a window, suggests an exterior world, but it's blurred and indistinct, focusing our attention on Marie. The window frame acts as a structural grid, dividing the composition and enhancing the flattening of space. This flattening, along with the bold color choices, aligns with Gauguin's exploration of subjective expression over realistic representation. The portrait can be seen as Gauguin's experimentation with form and color to convey mood and meaning. Gauguin is not merely depicting a person; he is constructing a visual experience that challenges traditional portraiture.