Description
In Tahitian Carrying Bananas by Paul Gauguin, a woman walks toward the right carrying a large bunch of bananas at her shoulder. A large cow or ox stands beneath a tree at the left, while a dog occupies the right. The horizontal arrangement brings human activity and animals together, making an ordinary task part of a setting with its own lively rhythm.
Made in 1898–99, Tahitian Carrying Bananas was printed from a woodblock on thin tissue paper. The medium gives forms an emphatic character, allowing carved marks and the lighter ground to establish their relationship. Gauguin finds a subject in the simple act of carrying something, making the figure’s arrangement more important than a surrounding anecdote. The work’s appeal lies in that concentration, where an everyday activity can become absorbing through the balance of body, burden and printed surface.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Paul Gauguin collection.
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