A white bust of Mette, Paul Gauguin51²è¹Ý¶ù Danish wife on a plinth
Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), Portrait of Mette Gauguin, 1877, Marble, The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust) © The Courtauld

Portrait of Mette Gauguin

Paul Gauguin

This bust of Mette, Paul Gauguin51²è¹Ý¶ù Danish wife, is one of only two marble sculptures he ever made. The other is of their son Emil. Both were created early on in Gauguin51²è¹Ý¶ù artistic career. The finely ruffled collar and gap between collar and neck demonstrate a level of technique surprising in someone with no formal sculptural training. He was likely helped by a professional sculptor, Jules-Ernest Bouillot, his landlord at the time.

The marble is restrained compared to Gauguin51²è¹Ý¶ù later sculpture, especially his roughly chiselled wood carvings.

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Two men sit across from each other at a table covered with a brown tablecloth, playing cards. Both men wear overcoats and hats, and the man on the left smokes a pipe. They sit inside a wooden building. Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) The Card Players, around 1892-96, The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

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