In 1890, Paul Gauguin painted the Portrait of a Woman In Front of a Still Life which features a still life by Cezanne in the background. The woman in the portrait remains unidentified, but her attire and adornments suggest an urban origin. Gauguin made adjustments to the piece as he worked on it, which are visible through x-ray analysis.
The painting is housed in the Art Institute of Chicago and is part of Gauguin’s personal collection, as indicated by his signature on the white frame. The piece is a Post-Impressionist Oil on Canvas that showcases Gauguin’s distinctive use of bold color and flattened forms. Cezanne’s Still Life with Fruit Dish, which features in the painting, now belongs to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
This piece is part of the Public Domain and is classified under Portraits, Women, and Still Life. The Portrait of a Woman In Front of a Still Life is an excellent example of Gauguin’s style and his inclination to experimentation with Western and non-Western art. The use of an urban woman and the inclusion of another artist’s work emphasize Gauguin’s fascination with depicting characters and objects that originated outside his experience.
