Paul Gauguin

Brittany, Tahiti, and a New Colour Language

Gauguin's career moved through distinct phases, each visible in the collection. His Brittany paintings — Haystacks in Brittany, A Farm in Brittany — show the early departure from Impressionism: the colours are already bolder than observation warrants, the forms simplified into flat, decorative planes. The Tahitian works push this further. In Mata Mua and Fatata Te Miti, colour becomes entirely symbolic — deep reds, saturated greens, and golden yellows that describe not what things look like but what they feel like.

What makes Gauguin's work enduringly popular on walls is that directness. The flat planes of colour and strong outlines read clearly at any distance, and the warm palette brings genuine warmth to a room. Unlike Impressionist paintings that soften as you step back, Gauguin's compositions hold their structure from across the room just as well as up close. If you're drawn to Post-Impressionist art or looking for work with strong decorative presence, Gauguin delivers without relying on prettiness. His paintings pair well with other bold colourists like Henri Matisse or Amedeo Modigliani.

Choosing the Right Format

Canvas print is a strong choice for Gauguin — the cotton texture adds depth to his layered colour fields and echoes the original painting surface. The tactile quality of canvas brings his thick, expressive brushwork to life in a way that flat media cannot quite match. Canvas prints come in 30x40cm, 50x70cm, and 70x100cm, with an optional floating frame for a finished gallery look.

Fine art paper prints in A3, 50x70cm, 70x100cm, or A0 offer sharper detail and a cleaner presentation, well suited to the Brittany landscapes where the compositional structure is more important than texture. Frame options include oak, black, and walnut brown. For the Tahitian works, oak or walnut brown framing enhances the warm tropical palette. Black framing gives the Brittany paintings a more graphic, contemporary edge.

Pairing and Placement

Gauguin's Tahitian works bring warmth and saturated colour — they work best as a focal point rather than background, ideally on a light or neutral wall where the palette can breathe. A large Tahitian canvas above a sideboard or dining table creates an anchoring presence that grounds the room.

The Brittany paintings are more restrained and pair easily with other European landscapes. They work well grouped in twos or threes, creating a narrative sequence from the same period and region. Mixing a Brittany piece with a Tahitian subject creates an interesting dialogue between the two phases of Gauguin's vision.

All prints are produced in our Berlin studio using archival pigment inks rated for 100+ years.