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Flowers and a Bowl of Fruit on a Table
Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903)
1894
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas mounted on paperboard
Dimensions
43.2 x 62.9 cm (17 x 24 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of John T. Spaulding
Accession Number48.546
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Gauguin painted this still life in Pont Aven, in northwestern France, where he spent several months in 1894 recovering from injuries sustained in a fight. Its tasseled mantelpiece trim and bright citrus punctuate the otherwise pale palette, characteristic of the artist’s output from 1893 to 1895, when he returned to France from lush and verdant Tahiti. Gauguin gave the picture to his friend, the painter Gustave Loiseau, who visited him faithfully throughout his convalescence.
Provenance1894, given by the artist in Pont-Aven to Gustave Loiseau (b. 1865 - d. 1935), Paris; 1921, sold by Loiseau to Durand-Ruel et Cie., Paris (stock no. 8083) [see note 1]; February 15, 1922, sold by Durand-Ruel to John Taylor Spaulding (b. 1870 - d. 1948), Boston; 1948, bequest of John Taylor Spaulding to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 3, 1948)
NOTES: [1] When John Taylor Spaulding purchased the painting from Durand-Ruel, the gallery sent him the copy of a letter from Loiseau to Durand-Ruel (April 15, 1921) describing the work and his acquisition of it from Gauguin in 1894. Loiseau states that he had the painting for 27 years.
NOTES: [1] When John Taylor Spaulding purchased the painting from Durand-Ruel, the gallery sent him the copy of a letter from Loiseau to Durand-Ruel (April 15, 1921) describing the work and his acquisition of it from Gauguin in 1894. Loiseau states that he had the painting for 27 years.