Man with an Ax 1893 - 1894

Paul Gauguin rendered this drawing, "Man with an Ax," on paper. The figure wields the ax with both hands, an act resonant with primal energies. The ax—a symbol seen across cultures, from ancient myths to modern industry—represents the power to transform and create, but also to destroy. One recalls the Greek myths where axes were wielded by gods to assert power, or even closer to our time, how symbols of axes and other tools have been reclaimed to represent laborers and workers. Consider, too, how Freud might view the ax, as an emblem of potent masculine force, used to cut through and reshape the world according to one’s will. This echoes in how, through the ages, the tool has been romanticized, abstracted from its original function and celebrated for its emotional associations with strength and control. Symbols such as the ax echo in the collective memory, continually resurfacing and evolving with each cultural retelling.