Sketches of Tahitian Residence with Color Notations and Dogs

"Sketches of Tahitian Residence with Color Notations and Dogs" is a significant drawing created by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903, during his foundational period in the South Pacific. Executed between 1891 and 1893, this work is classified as a drawing, utilizing black fabricated chalk, including a distinct chalk offset, on cream wove paper. Having been removed from one of the artist's active sketchbooks, the piece offers direct insight into Gauguin's rigorous methodology and the preparatory stages of his major Post-Impressionist compositions.

Gauguin’s departure from France in 1891 marked a radical shift in his artistic focus, centering on capturing the authentic atmosphere of French Polynesia. Sketches of Tahitian Residence with Color Notations and Dogs is characteristic of his observational methods, depicting preliminary architectural details, human figures, and domestic animals like the dogs often included in his tropical settings. The visible color notations scribbled directly onto the sketch demonstrate Gauguin’s meticulous process of planning his vibrant palette for subsequent oil paintings, linking these preliminary studies directly to the renowned works created during his initial Tahitian residence.

This intimate drawing illuminates Gauguin’s attempt to document and interpret Tahitian culture outside of conventional European artistic traditions. As a foundational piece documenting the artist's pivotal transition from the French art establishment to the avant-garde exploration of the Pacific, the work resides in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The continued study of drawings like this helps historians understand the development of modern French art, providing crucial context for the numerous prints and paintings inspired by this era, many of which are now widely available in the public domain.