On the Banks of the River, Martinique
Paul Gauguin (1848 - 1903), Martinique, 1887
oil on canvas, 54.5 cm x 65.5 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
In 1887, Gauguin and his artist friend Charles Laval stayed in the French colony of Martinique. Gauguin was strongly attracted to what he saw as the ‘exotic’ nature of the island. The works of art that he created there reflect a colonial perspective on reality. In On the Banks of the River, Martinique, he romanticised the landscape. While the descendants of enslaved people are prominently featured, their harsh living conditions on the plantations are entirely absent.
Gauguin met Van Gogh shortly after returning from Martinique. Van Gogh admired him greatly and exchanged two of his sunflower paintings for this piece. In a letter to his sister Willemien, Vincent described the landscape as ‘a dried-up river with purple mud.’
- Object number
- s0220V1962
- Dimensions
- 54.5 cm x 65.5 cm, 73 cm x 83.8 cm, 8 cm
- Provenance
- Exchanged by the artist, Paris with Vincent van Gogh, Paris, December 1887; left by Vincent van Gogh at the apartment of his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris; after his death on 25 January 1891, inherited by his widow, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, and their son, Vincent Willem van Gogh, Paris; administered until her death on 2 September 1925 by Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Bussum/Amsterdam/Laren; transferred by Vincent Willem van Gogh, Laren, to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Amsterdam, 10 July 1962; agreement concluded between the Vincent van Gogh Foundation and the State of the Netherlands, in which the preservation and management of the collection, and its placing in the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, to be realized in Amsterdam, is entrusted to the State, 21 July 1962; on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh from the opening of the museum on 2 June 1973, and at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, since 1 July 1994.
- artist
- Paul Gauguin
- Credits (obliged to state)
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
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