Artwork

Landscape with a Cottage; Profile of Boy, Profile of Man, Two Women in a Landscape, and Five Other Studies [verso]

Landscape with a Cottage; Profile of Boy, Profile of Man, Two Women in a Landscape, and Five Other Studies [verso] is an ink drawing by the Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin. It dates from 1886 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1886, this drawing by Paul Gauguin consists of pen and brown ink applied to wove paper. The sheet combines a modest landscape scene on the left with a series of figure studies on the reverse, illustrating the artist’s habit of integrating multiple subjects within a single sketchbook page.

Subject & Meaning

The front side presents a simple countryside view, featuring a solitary cottage, a tall tree and faint indications of a path or fence, evoking a tranquil European rural setting. The verso contains a profile portrait of a boy, a profile of a man, two women, and additional standing or bending figures, suggesting Gauguin’s interest in observing everyday human forms alongside nature.

Technique & Style

Gauguin employed swift, loose strokes of brown ink, with cross‑hatching used particularly in the boy’s hair to build darker tones through intersecting lines. The overall handling reflects the Post‑Impressionist shift toward more expressive, less naturalistic rendering, emphasizing line and tonal contrast over detailed modeling.

Context

At this stage of his career Gauguin was moving away from pure Impressionist observation, experimenting with symbolic composition and simplified forms. While many of his later works would focus on exotic locales, this piece remains rooted in a conventional European landscape, offering insight into his transitional period and his practice of sketching both environment and figure together.

Artist & collection

Artist

Paul Gauguin

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; French: ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements.