During February half term, three of the L6 art historians attended a full-day workshop titled ‘Gauguin: Artist and Rebel’ at The Courtauld Institute of Art. The workshop was led by art historian Fran Hedrick, curator Ketty Gottardo and printmaker Helen Higgins.

Gauguin was born in Paris in 1853 and died in the Marquesas Islands in 1903. He is one of the most well-known post-impressionist artists. He is most famous for his paintings and prints of Tahitians and the South Pacific landscape as well as his revolutionary use of bold flat forms, broad brushstroke and bright colours.

We studied two paintings by Gauguin from his later career: ‘Te Rerioa’ and ‘Nevermore’. The content of the artworks sparked many thought provoking ideas about colonialism, race and gender and how art historians should treat these works. Exploring his paintings, prints and drawings in person at The Courtauld Institute allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of his works. We also spent time in the prints and drawings study room to focus on ‘Avant et après’ (1903) which translates to ‘before and after.’ This was his final manuscript made in the Marquesas Islands before his death. It explores his life and relationships with many other artists such as Degas, Pissarro, Cézanne and Van Gogh as well as his cynical opinions on art critics who do not appreciate the post-impressionist art movement. It was remarkable to be able to see Gauguin’s own writing and sketches in the book and this experience allowed us to immerse ourselves further in his life and thoughts. 

In the afternoon, we took part in a practical print making session, where we were able to produce our own prints inspired by Gauguin. He was never formally trained as a craftsman and printmaker and would use any materials that come to hand. We used monotype, a technique that starts with placing a sheet onto a inked surface. Then the image is drawn on top of the sheet using a pencil and when you lift the sheet, the ink has been pressed into the paper to create the image. By practicing this technique, it helped us understand the processes that Gauguin would have used in his printing making.

Once the day was complete, we were granted free entry into the gallery to see the spectacular collection of art in The Courtauld Gallery. We were also able to visit ‘The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig’ which is on from 10 February – 29 May 2023. These works represents a new chapter in his career as he has moved to London and focused on the city as part of his new subject matter. As he is a contemporary artist, the exhibition provided a great contrast with the works we looked at as part of the workshop.

By Lucy (L6)

 

We had an amazing time at the free course offered by the Courtauld Institute in Somerset House on the artist Gauguin during February half-term; once we had arrived we were given an interesting introduction by an art historian on some background to Gaugin’s life. We discussed his time spent living in Tahiti, and whether we can judge Gauguin today for his morally dubious behaviour by today’s standards. We had a brief look at a couple of Gauguin’s paintings that he created in Tahiti, then had the opportunity to go and see them in real life in the Courtauld’s gallery! It was intriguing to examine his works, and to discuss his unique and distinctive style. Later on, we were fortunate enough to be able to look at Gauguin’s original manuscript ‘Avant et Après’ that the gallery has in its archives, in addition to some wonderful versions of his original prints. We then spent an enjoyable and creative afternoon having a go at creating our own Gauguin-inspired prints, many of which turned out better than expected! The experience was varied, fascinating and enriching and I would greatly recommend the Courtauld’s free online and in-person courses to anyone interested. 

By Eva (L6)