“Landscape with Peacocks” is an artwork by Paul Gauguin completed in 1892 during his time in French Polynesia. It exemplifies the Post-Impressionism art movement. The medium used is oil on canvas. As a landscape genre, it brings the viewer into a vividly conceived natural space, and it currently resides in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Russia.
The artwork presents a lush, tropical scene replete with vibrant color and expressive brushwork, characteristic of Gauguin’s later work. In the foreground, peacocks strut and preen on a path that meanders toward the middle ground, drawing the eye deeper into the painted world. Not far from the birds, figures engage in day-to-day activities, emphasizing the intertwined relationship between nature and the inhabitants of the land. The background is an intricate tapestry of organic shapes, with trees and foliage rendered in a variety of greens against a striking, fiery sky that might suggest the time of day nearing sunset. Overall, the composition conveys a sense of exoticism and a departure from the visual reality, aiming to capture the essence of the scene rather than its realistic depiction. Through his bold use of color and stylized approach to form, Gauguin communicates a profound emotional response to the landscape and culture of French Polynesia.
