Seated Tahitian Woman (recto); Standing Tahitian Woman (verso) 1891 - 1893

This sketch of Tahitian women was created by Paul Gauguin, though the date is unknown, and is held at the Art Institute of Chicago. Gauguin sought an escape from Western conventions in Tahiti, but his encounters were complex. Gauguin's images of Tahitian women exist within a colonial context, one of power imbalance. Though he claimed to represent an authentic, untouched culture, his gaze was that of a European male artist, shaping and interpreting what he saw through his own lens. The women in this sketch are depicted in a way that blends exoticism with a sense of the everyday. Are they romanticized figures, or are they rendered with respect and individuality? The artist never fully relinquishes his position of power. He decides what to show, and how to show it. As you look, consider what it means to see these women through Gauguin’s eyes, and how the artist shapes our understanding of their identities and their world.