Bathing Place 1886

Paul Gauguin's "Bathing Place" (1886) depicts a scene of young men bathing in a natural setting. The painting, now in the Hiroshima Museum of Art, captures the idyllic beauty of the French countryside with bold, vibrant colors. Gauguin's distinctive style, characterized by flat planes of color and simplified forms, is evident in the depiction of the figures and the surrounding landscape. This work exemplifies Gauguin's move away from Impressionism towards a more expressive and symbolic approach to painting, foreshadowing his later exploration of themes of primitivism and exoticism.