Farm in Brittany 1894

Paul Gauguin painted this landscape with oils on canvas, possibly around the late 1880s, when he was working in Brittany. Oil paint allows an artist to build up layers, and Gauguin uses this to full effect. Notice the heavy strokes, applied with palpable energy. It’s easy to forget that paint begins as a thick slurry of pigment and oil, a mixture achieved by grinding. Pigments themselves derive from diverse sources – minerals, plants, even insects. The vibrant colors are the real story here. Gauguin’s application is so emphatic, he’s almost daring you to see the world as he did, full of jewel-like tones. This was a deliberate challenge to academic painting, which valued a more muted palette and smoother finish, meant to efface the labor of the artist. Gauguin, by contrast, emphasizes his choices, his touch, his complete confidence in this highly subjective rendering. In doing so, he asserts the value of individual vision, a radical stance with profound implications for the history of art.