Still Life with Profile of Laval

Signed and dated L.L.: P. Gauguin 86

Gallery label:
Gauguin painted this unusual image in Paris in late 1886, after his first visit to Pont-Aven, where he befriended the artist Charles Laval. Laval's profile, abruptly cut on the right, reflects Gauguin's admiration for the off center, cropped compositions of Edgar Degas. The parallel brush strokes and outlined forms of the fruit suggest the influence of Paul Cézanne. The tall dark form is a ceramic by Gauguin and typifies his highly original experiments with new media. He was especially fond of this pot, whose current location is unknown.

Indianapolis Museum of Art
Samuel Josefowitz Collection of the School of Pont-Aven, through the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc., the Josefowitz Family, Mr. and Mrs. James M. Cornelius, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard J. Betley, Lori and Dan Efroymson, and other Friends of the Museum