Woman with Figs 1894

Paul Gauguin created this etching titled "Woman with Figs" with unknown materials, and at an unknown time. The image presents a woman seated at a table with figs and a dog; in the background, a landscape is visible through a window. In this intimate domestic scene, Gauguin creates a window into the life of a woman, but from a distant vantage point. Made at a time when French artists were increasingly turning to the lives of everyday people for subject matter, it both presents and obscures the life of a woman. The lack of clear class indicators and the unidealized rendering of the subject imply a specific social milieu. To fully understand this work, scholars turn to historical records to understand how gender and class intersect to shape daily life in nineteenth century France. The artwork's meaning becomes clearer when we understand the social conditions that shape artistic production.