November 2010 • scholastic/art

1. November 2010 • www.scholastic.com/art In this issue of Scholastic Art, you learned how French artist Paul Gauguin used color to develop his unique painting style. Now find out how he used the world around him to create one of his first masterpieces.

2. THE ARTIST In 1886, Paul Gauguin had no job and no money. He told a friend, “How I long to escape from Paris and go to some out-of-the-way place where I can live cheaply and paint pictures.”

3. THE ESCAPE Soon Gauguin left Paris for Brittany, a colorful and rugged region on the northwestern coast of France.

4. THE PLACE The rocky peninsula of Brittany is isolated from the rest of France. As a result, Breton culture stayed the same for hundreds of years.

5. THE PEOPLE When Gauguin lived in Brittany, many Bretons dressed as they had for centuries. For church every Sunday, women wore traditional costumes which included large, elaborate white bonnets.

6. THE CHURCH Known for being very independent and religious, the Bretons had always made the church an important part of their lives.

7. CHURCH WINDOWS Stained-glass windows like this one have always been an important feature of Breton churches. Gauguin noticed that every image in these windows was made up of brightly colored flat shapes. Each shape was outlined by heavy black lines.

8. THE PAINTING Breton life fascinated Gauguin, and he used elements of the culture in this work titled, The Vision After the Sermon. Can you find two aspects of Breton life Gauguin has used in this image? The Vision After the Sermon, 1888. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.

9. TWO WORLDS To visually capture the depth of the Bretons’ religious belief, Gauguin began by dividing his composition into two parts. The Vision After the Sermon, 1888. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.

10. The bottom part represents reality. A group of Breton women have just come from church. Gauguin has painted them realistically, using natural colors, solid shapes, and traditional perspective. The women are thinking about the sermon they have just heard. The Vision After the Sermon, 1888. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.

11. The top half visualizes the women’s thoughts. The bright-red background, unnatural colors and simplified flat shapes tell us that the events at the top of the painting are happening only in the women’s minds. The Vision After the Sermon, 1888. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.

12. THE IDEA The sermon—and Gauguin’s painting—are both based on a biblical story in which Jacob wrestles with an angel. For Gauguin, Jacob symbolizes the artist’s created struggle. Gauguin’s use of strong primary reds, yellows and blues expresses the strength needed to create. The Vision After the Sermon, 1888. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.

13. NEW ART STYLE The Vision After the Sermon was one of the first paintings Gauguin did in the new style for which he would become famous. It features brightly colored flat shapes surrounded by heavy black outlines. Compare this work to the Breton stained-glass window you saw earlier. The Vision After the Sermon, 1888. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.

14. MOVING ON After finishing this painting, Gauguin wrote to his friend artist Vincent van Gogh, “I think I have captured a great and simple religious truth.” Gauguin lived in Brittany off and on for the next two years until he received a letter from Van Gogh inviting him to come and live in southern France. To find out more about this famous visit, read pages 6-7 in the November issue of