Paul Gauguin
1877
Marble
34 x 26.5 x 18.5 cm
This bust of Mette, Paul Gauguin’s Danish wife, is one of only two marble sculptures he ever made. The other is of their son Emil. Both were created early on in Gauguin’s artistic career. The finely ruffled collar and gap between collar and neck demonstrate a level of technique surprising in someone with no formal sculptural training. He was likely helped by a professional sculptor, Jules-Ernest Bouillot, his landlord at the time.
It is quiet and somewhat conventional compared with his later three-dimensional work, especially the roughly carved and expressive wood sculptures inspired by his time in Tahiti.