Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)

Parau Parau

Details

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)
Parau Parau
signed and inscribed upper center 'Gauguin Parau Parau no'
brush, black and brown ink on tan paper
10 5/8 x 7½in. (27 x 19cm.)
Drawn 1891-1893

Provenance

Paco Durrio, Paris
Galerie Rosengart, Lucerne
Dr. Richard Doetsch-Benziger, Basel
Anon. sale, Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, June 22, 1990, lot 463 (acquired by the present owner)

Exhibited

Basel, Kunsthalle, Paul Gauguin, July-Aug., 1928, no. 196
Berlin, Galerien Thannhauser, Paul Gauguin, Oct., 1928, no. 174
Basel, Kunsthalle, Kunstwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts aus Basler Privatbesitz, 1943, no. 157
Basel, Kunstmuseum, Paul Gauguin, Nov., 1949-Jan., 1950, no. 133

Lot Essay

The figures and their placement in Parau Parau are closely related to the painting Parau Hanohano, Paroles terrifiantes, done in Tahiti in 1892 (Wildenstein, no. 460). The two figures on the right and the inscriptions were executed in a different ink than that used for the figure seated at the left and have faded. The painting further develops the theme of the related oil painting Contes barbares (Wildenstein, no. 459) by introducing the figures of two idols into the background, the larger of which is faintly visible in the present study.

A letter from the Wildenstein Institute dated Paris, February 1, 1991 accompanies this drawing, which will be included in their forthcoming revised edition of the Gauguin catalogue raisonné.