Self portrait, at work 1893

Editor: This is Paul Gauguin's 1893 watercolor, "Self-Portrait, at Work." The palette is so warm, and the subject matter seems quite intimate, with Gauguin’s back turned to us as he’s working on another canvas. What strikes you most about it? Curator: The deliberate choice of perspective is key. We’re not granted the typical frontal view we often associate with self-portraits. Instead, we witness Gauguin in his process, almost as a voyeur. Doesn’t that refusal to meet the viewer's gaze speak volumes about the colonial dynamics at play in his life and art? His exoticizing of Polynesian culture? Editor: That's interesting, I hadn't thought about it in that way. How does that relate to the…skirt he’s wearing? Curator: The pareu. The vibrant, patterned pareu functions here not just as clothing, but as a powerful symbol, both reflecting his engagement with Tahitian culture and, arguably, appropriating it. Remember, Gauguin’s artistic practice was deeply entwined with his complex and often problematic relationship to the cultures he encountered in the South Pacific. He wasn't merely depicting, he was participating in a colonial gaze. Does that make sense? Editor: Yes, it's helpful to consider his biography in the context of this piece. I see that he isn’t showing his face; instead, our eyes are directed to the painting in front of him, suggesting a masking of the self, and simultaneously an act of revelation through art. Curator: Exactly! Consider how his artistic persona allowed him to explore identities and narratives, some more harmful than others. He invites the viewer to reckon with those tensions, and with his artistic choices that reflected and impacted societal prejudices. Editor: Thinking about the power dynamics inherent in the piece definitely makes me see the portrait in a new light. Curator: It is important to question whose stories are told, and how, even in these seemingly simple self-portraits.