Two sisters 1892

Paul Gauguin created this painting, “Two Sisters,” in 1892 or 1893, during his first trip to Tahiti. Gauguin’s work in Tahiti was driven by a desire to escape the industrialized world, and to find societies with a more direct connection to making and nature. He chose to paint in oils, which, unlike fresco or tempera, were easy to transport. But his technique wasn’t especially polished. The paint is laid on in visible strokes, particularly in the background, which almost seems to vibrate. The dresses worn by the sisters, for instance, were imported to Tahiti. They are an obvious sign of the colonial presence there, and evidence of a world of textile manufacture far removed from the supposed paradise that Gauguin sought. Thinking about the materiality of “Two Sisters,” helps us to see the contradictions of Gauguin’s romantic vision, challenging the traditional art historical notion of the artist as an individual genius separate from their social context.