Untitled

Paul Gauguin

1889

watercolor

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century

About this work

This is a small watercolor sketch of a man with a red beard and dark, deep-set eyes. He’s looking straight at you, but his face is half in shadow. Gauguin drew this in 1889 while living in Brittany, France. The man is Meijer de Haan, a Dutch painter who was also staying there. They worked side-by-side, but Gauguin never finished the portrait—this is just a quick study, not a polished painting. If you like how Gauguin layers color, look up the technique called glazing.