The Portrait of Meijer de Haan is a significant drawing created by the French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin in 1889. Classified as a drawing, this piece utilizes the delicate and intimate combination of watercolor and pencil on paper. This choice of medium emphasizes the immediacy of the study, capturing the subject with an expressive economy of line and color that contrasts with the density of Gauguin's oil paintings from the same period.
The year 1889 marks a pivotal time for Gauguin, following his contentious stay with Van Gogh in Arles and leading directly into his pivotal renewed engagement with the artistic community in Pont-Aven, Brittany. The sitter, Meijer de Haan (1852-1895), was a Dutch painter who became an important colleague, friend, and financial supporter of the artist during their time together in Pont-Aven starting that summer. Gauguin’s rendering of De Haan captures a serious, contemplative expression, characteristic of the synthetic style Gauguin was developing, where forms are simplified and outlined to convey emotional depth rather than pure realism. The composition reflects the influence of Japanese ukiyo-e prints, a key source of inspiration for many French artists seeking alternatives to traditional European aesthetics during the late 19th century.
This work is a crucial example of Gauguin’s mastery in graphic media, providing insight into the foundational compositional strategies underpinning his larger oils. As a vital piece of late 19th-century French art, the drawing is housed in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, where it contributes to the museum’s extensive holdings in modern drawing. The historical and artistic importance of this 1889 portrait means that high-quality prints and reproductions are frequently produced for scholarly study. Consequently, this image is often found in institutional and educational art databases, sometimes even entering the realm of the public domain, making detailed prints available for wider appreciation and academic analysis.
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