Bust of a Tahitian Woman

The intimate portrait, Bust of a Tahitian Woman, created by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903, in 1894, exemplifies the artist’s experimental approach to combining painting and print techniques. This unique piece is executed using the demanding technique of watercolor monotype. Gauguin applied the pigments directly onto a surface, then pressed dampened ivory Japanese paper onto the resulting image to transfer the design. This method ensures that only one primary impression is made, granting the finished work a painterly quality rarely seen in traditional prints. The original ivory Japanese paper has since discolored to a warm tan tone, laid down onto a secondary tan wove paper support, which enhances the subject’s contemplative mood.

Created during Gauguin’s second major period of residence in the South Pacific, this work reflects his deep engagement with Tahitian culture and his search for an idealized world away from metropolitan France. The artist frequently depicted Tahitian women, utilizing flattened planes of color and simplified forms characteristic of Post-Impressionism. Gauguin’s deliberate choice to render his subject with minimal background focuses attention entirely on the figure's serene expression and the lines of her traditional attire. The painting showcases the complexity of 1848-1903's later career, blending European modernist impulses with Polynesian inspiration.

This singular example of a watercolor monotype is an important document of Gauguin’s graphic output. The work is proudly held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where it serves as a critical reference for understanding French artistic trends responding to non-Western subjects in the late nineteenth century. As a notable piece from 1894, high-quality images and public domain prints of this significant painting are frequently sought after by researchers and enthusiasts worldwide.