Landscape at Arles 1888

Paul Gauguin painted Landscape at Arles with oil on canvas, and today it resides at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. Gauguin’s stay in Arles with Van Gogh epitomized the tensions between the individual artistic vision and the dream of a shared artistic community. Here, Gauguin isn’t just capturing a scene; he's engaging in a dialogue about representation itself. Gauguin turns away from the Impressionist’s commitment to optical truth. This painting reflects a broader shift in the art world, questioning whose perspectives get valorized and how the natural world is perceived through different cultural lenses. Do you feel Gauguin offers us an alternative narrative, or does he reinforce the established order? Consider how the identities of both the artist and the viewer shape our understanding of this landscape. Think about how the painting invites us to reflect on our relationship with nature.