Breton Bather

"Breton Bather" by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903, created between 1886 and 1887, is a pivotal work classified as a drawing, executed during the artist’s influential period in Pont-Aven, Brittany, France. This piece showcases Gauguin’s complex preparatory process, employing charcoal and pastel layered with touches of brush and brown ink on ivory laid paper, which has since discolored to a warm tan.

The technical complexity is further evidenced by the surface preparation: the study was partially outlined in graphite and meticulously squared in black fabricated chalk. This squaring technique confirms that Gauguin intended this powerful, simplified figure of the bather to serve as a guide or source material for a potential larger, and likely more colorful, composition. The verso of the paper even retains residual yellow paint, linking this drawing firmly to his working studio environment.

Dating to a critical juncture in the artist’s career, this drawing reflects Gauguin’s decisive shift away from strict Impressionism toward a more symbolic, synthesizing style. The powerful contours and abstracted rendering of the figure anticipate the bold Post-Impressionist forms and flat color planes that would define his most celebrated canvases.

This exceptional example of Gauguin’s draftsmanship is preserved in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a key document detailing his evolving methodology, the study informs our understanding of the transitional phase of modern art. High-quality prints and reproductions of this seminal work are frequently made available through public domain initiatives and museum partnerships.