The market by Paul Gauguin

The influence of ancient arts, notably Egyptian bas-reliefs, combines here with the observation of colonial life to create a scene of exceptional stylistic rarity. Through the composition entitled “The market”, the theorist of Synthetism Paul Gauguin transposes ancient graphic codes into the contemporary context of a market in Papeete. This painting manifests the painter’s desire to sacralize daily life through geometric forms and ritual attitudes.

Five Tahitian women are seated side by side in a single file on a long green bench, adopting rigid postures with profile faces and frontal torsos. Their long dresses display successive hues ranging from black to saffron yellow, passing through bottle green, blue-grey, and bright orange. On the right, a sixth woman stands, dressed in a red pareo with complex geometric patterns. The background features a forest of bluish trunks and dense foliage where two male silhouettes in motion can be discerned near the shore. The light ground highlights the chromatic frieze formed by the dresses of the protagonists under a uniform light.

The craftsman’s skill bursts forth in this bold transposition of sculptural two-dimensionality onto a easel canvas. His meticulous oil technique structures the space with precise contour lines and bold color juxtapositions. The rendering of textures and the overall harmony bear witness to an immense rigor of execution.