Blue trees 1888

Paul Gauguin created ‘Blue Trees’ using oil on canvas. As a European artist who spent considerable time in Tahiti, Gauguin’s work provides a complex lens through which to view colonialism, cultural appropriation, and the exoticization of non-Western cultures. In this painting, Gauguin uses a striking palette where trees are not green but, as the title says, blue. This deliberate choice invites us to question conventional perceptions of nature. Who is this child walking with an adult behind these blue trees? What are they looking at? Are they residents of the land, or recent arrivals? The figures in the painting are partially obscured, their identities somewhat concealed by the unnaturalistically colored tree trunks. By manipulating color and form, Gauguin prompts viewers to consider the emotional and psychological dimensions of the landscape and its inhabitants, whether real or imagined.