Street in Tahiti

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Street in Tahiti

Artist Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903)

Place of OriginTahiti

Date1891

DimensionsPainting: 45 1/2 × 34 7/8 in. (115.6 × 88.6 cm)
Frame: 57 1/2 × 45 3/4 × 5 1/2 in. (146.1 × 116.2 × 14 cm)

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1939.82

Not on View

Label TextThe vibrant colors of Paul Gauguin’s painting express his intense reaction to the mysteries of the “new Eden” that he sought in the South Pacific. Disgusted with modern European culture, Gauguin left France in search of a “less spoiled” way of life lived in intimate association with nature. His stated goal was to renew his art through contact with a non-European, pre-industrial culture. In 1891 he traveled to Tahiti and found it greatly influenced by Christian missionaries and French colonization. Disappointed, he eventually created his fantasy vision of “primitive” Tahitian culture on his canvases—though his actual interaction with Pacific Islanders was largely exploitative and even abusive. Street in Tahiti was among the first group of paintings Gauguin produced in Tahiti during his initial two-year stay. He conveyed something of the special character of the place—the limpid light, rich color, lush vegetation, and lofty mountains—through his use of strong contours, flattened shapes, repeated curving rhythms, and tautly patterned brushstrokes. However, minor notes of strain, such as the brooding woman and heavy clouds pressing down from above, introduce undertones of sadness and disquiet.Published ReferencesBarth, W., Gauguin, Basel, 1929, pp. 113-117, pl. XXVIII (as Die Berge).

Alexandre, A., Paul Gauguin: sa vie et le sens de son oeuvre, Paris, 1930, p. 103, repr. (as Pausage de la Martinique).

Malingue, M., Gauguin: le peintre et son oeuvre, Paris, 1948, pl 173.

Estienne, C., Gauguin, Geneva, 1953, p. 62, repr. p. 63.

Dorival, B., ed., Paul Gauguin, carnet de Tahiti, Paris, 1954, pp. 20, 28, 41.

Sutton, D., "Notes on Paul Gauguin apropos a Recent Exhibition," Burlington Magazine, XCVIII, Mar. 1956, p. 91.

Gorham, Charles,...und das Gold ihrer Korper; das abenteuerliche Leben Paul Gauguins, Baden-Baden, 1956, repr. (col.) p. 113.

Wildenstein, G., Gauguin, Paris, 1964, p. 174, no. 441, repr.

The Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 62, pl. 262, color pl. XI.

Huyghe, René, Gauguin, New York, 1988, repr. (col.) p. 52.

Lewis, David, "Museum Impressions," Carnegie Magazine, vol. 59, no. 12, Nov/Dec. 1989, pp. 16-17, repr. p. 18 (col.).

Noiville, Florence, "Gauguin: Peintre de la vie sauvage," OKAPI, no. 442, Apr. 15, 1990, p. 8, repr. (col.).

Thomson, Belinda, ed., Gauguin by Himself, Boston, 1993, pl. 159, (col.) p. 201.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Treasures, Toledo, 1995, p. 144, repr. (col.).

Fonsmark, Anne-Birgitte, Manet, Gauguin, Rodin...chef d'oeuvre de la Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek de Copenhague, Paris, 1995, p. 172, fig. 1.

Field, Richard S., Paul Gauguin: the Paintings of the First Voyage to Tahiti, New York and London, Garland, 1977, p. 45, 58-59, 69-73, 78, 251-252, n. 96-102, 301, 306, 316.

"Paul Gauguin," ArtaFacts Magazine, vol. 8, no. 1, Aug/Sept 2004, repr. (col.) p. 1.

Henry, Marilyn, "Museums Sue to Keep Art," Art News, vol. 105, no. 3, March 2006, p. 58, repr. (col.).

Lay, Graeme, In Search of Paradise: Artists and Writers in the Colonial South Pacific, Auckland, NZ, Random House, 2008, repr. p. 146 (col.).

Reiss, Steven Alan and Jonathan Bloom, "The Good Faith Owner and the Tardy Heir: Recent Cases Portent More Aggressive Defenses Against Holocaust-era Claims," Ifar Journal, vol. 10, no. 2, 2008, pp. 14, 18-20, fig. 2 (col.).

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 277, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryBerlin, Galerie Thannhauser, Paul Gauguin, 1928, no. 50, repr. (as Die Berge).

New York, Wildenstein, Paul Gauguin, 1946, no. 16, repr. p. 30.

Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1947.

Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne Art Museum, 1953.

Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Academy; London, Tate Gallery, Gauguin: an Exhibition of Paintings, Engravings, and Sculpture, 1955, p. 28, no. 42.

Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Gauguin, 1959, no. 31, repr. p. 40.

New York, Metropolitan Museum, 1959.

Washington, National Gallery of Art; Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago; Paris, Grand Palais, The Art of Paul Gauguin, 1988-1989, no. 131, pp. 236-238, repr. (col.).

Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art; Minneapolis, Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Kansas City, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Toledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, et al., Impressionism: Selections from Five American Museums, 1989-1990, no. 30, p. 82, repr. (col.).

Essen, Museum Folkwang; Berlin, Neue Nationalgalerie, Paul Gauguin: das verlorene Paradies, 1998, no. 16, p. 111, repr. (col.). Sao Paulo, Brazil, Museo de Arte de Saul Paulo, Gauguin: The Other and I, April 28 - August 6, 2023.

Canberra, Australia, National Gallery of Australia; Houston, TX, Museum of Fine Arts, The World of Gauguin, Jun. 6, 2024 - Feb 16, 2025.