This simple but charming artwork captures several small houses within a village setting. Behind them is a sprawling landscape with a bright sky in the far distance. Nearest to us are several trees and bushes which help to add an extra layer to the perspective of this piece. Some may not initially see this as typical of Gauguin in terms of style, but the content and colour scheme is entirely typical. He would use a more traditional approach within A Farm in Brittany, where as later on emotion would start to play a more important role in how he put these artworks together. See the houses, for example, as they are carefully drawn and pretty faithful to the original look that the artist would have seen at the time. Gauguin here pays attention to fine details, such as the angles of the chimneys and windows.
The artist eventually moved to Tahiti where he would produce perhaps the most important body of work from across his entire career. Although he died relatively young, Gauguin was able to output a large oeuvre by the time of his death. He remains highly regarded within the west, and his decision to relocate to another region is viewed more favourably by today's open minded society. In fact, he is viewed more as a unique free-spirited individual who turned his back on safety and security for the benefit of his artistic output. He may not have achieved the fame that he has without his memorable activities within Tahiti. It also helped to teach others about the qualities of this unique region. There are very few examples of anyone doing similar within the western art scene, even though the industry is famous for people trying to be different in many different ways.
This painting can be found within the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. The institution hosts one of the finest permanent art displays in the world, and also offers a good variety of other antiquities from all around the world too. The city of New York itself continues to lead the way, culturally, and has more venues offering cultural pursuits than you could possibly fit into a vacation there. In terms of those interested in Gauguin's work specifically, some of his best achievements included titles such as Tahitian Women on the Beach, Two Tahitian Women and When will you Marry?, though in truth there are hundreds of other artworks to enjoy across this consistently impressive career that retains its value even today.
