Two Marquesans [verso]

"Two Marquesans [verso]," created by Paul Gauguin in 1902, is a compelling late-career drawing that captures the artist’s enduring fascination with Polynesian culture. Executed using pencil and crayon, the work showcases the swift, intimate draftsmanship that characterizes Gauguin’s studies and preliminary sketches from his final residence in the South Pacific. Although the immediate technique is drawing, the piece is officially classified as a Print within the museum records, underscoring its relevance to the artist's broader graphic output.

Created during the period 1901 to 1925, the work reflects the intense dedication of this key French Post-Impressionist to recording the life and figures he encountered in the remote Marquesas Islands. Gauguin, having moved permanently to Oceania in the 1890s, sought subjects untouched by Western civilization, simplifying forms and utilizing bold lines to convey emotional and symbolic resonance rather than strict realism. The use of pencil and crayon allows for a spontaneity that reveals the artist’s direct engagement with his subjects. This piece, likely a preparatory study, is vital for understanding how Gauguin translated his initial observations into the powerful, stylized compositions for which he is most famous.

Gauguin's commitment to expressive line and form cemented his legacy as a pivotal figure in modern art. The drawings and prints from this era often reveal the underpinnings of his complex visual language, demonstrating his transition away from naturalistic representation toward pure symbolism. Today, this seminal example of the artist's engagement with indigenous portraiture is maintained within the prestigious collection of the National Gallery of Art, providing critical insight into the last years of Gauguin’s transformative career.