The White Horse 1898

Paul Gauguin created this painting, “The White Horse,” using oil on canvas. Not an especially esoteric combination of materials. But look closely, and you'll see that his technique has a lot to do with how this canvas communicates. Gauguin applied the oil paint in thin layers, using broad, visible brushstrokes to build up the image. This direct, expressive way of working aligns him with the Post-Impressionists, like Van Gogh, who prized their individual artistic process, over accurate representation of the subject. It is also rooted in the history of craft. Gauguin originally trained as a ceramicist, and throughout his career explored printmaking, wood carving, and other media. His interest in these hands-on approaches to artmaking definitely informed his painting. You might even say that in a painting like "The White Horse," the brushstrokes are not just a means to an end, but actually part of the meaning. It’s this emphasis on the value of making that ultimately challenges the traditional hierarchy between fine art and craft.