art-Gauguin.com

Paul Gauguin - Rue Jouvenet, Rouen 1884

« previous picture | 1880s Gauguin Paintings | next picture »

From Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection:
This quiet street, similar to that of a village, represents the rue Jouvenet in Rouen, situated close to the impasse Malherne, where Gauguin settled with his family in 1884.
In that period Gauguin was aware of the fact that he had not entirely mastered his art, but he generally carried out his experiments by painting from nature, trying to achieve a synthesis between Pissarro's Impressionism and Cézanne's more synthetic art. Around mid-May 1884 he wrote to Pissarro: "What I have at home at the moment is better in that sense, and what I'm hoping to do are large and not monotonous pieces, although I believe that nature is simple in its whole. To convey one's thoughts one has to be sure of their execution and I have not yet found in this one what I what to do-I will have to suffer a little longer". The picture is painted with quick brushstrokes, clearly visible, particularly in the sky, and become more regular on the façades of the buildings. The motifs are outlined with a darker trait, which emphasises the shapes. The drawing as well as the colours structure the composition, which is still dependant on the naturalistic vision of space typical of the Impressionists.