Accession Number
62735
Medium
Watercolor on cream laid paper, laid down on cream Japanese paper
Dimensions
Primary/secondary support: 63.5 × 36.1 cm (25 × 14 1/4 in.)
Classification
watercolor
Credit Line
Gift of Helen Tieken Geraghty in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Theodore Tieken
Background & Context
Background Story
Paul Gauguin's Still Life with Cat (c. 1899) is a watercolor on cream laid paper from his Tahitian period. This still life shows a cat alongside fruit or other objects, the subject treated with Gauguin's characteristic simplified forms and rich colors. The watercolor technique is fluid and confident, the laid paper providing a textured ground. Still lifes were less common in Gauguin's Tahitian work but show his continued engagement with European artistic traditions.
Cultural Impact
Gauguin's Tahitian still lifes demonstrate the persistence of European artistic traditions in his South Pacific work.
Why It Matters
This watercolor still life with a cat shows Gauguin adapting the European still life tradition to his Tahitian context.
