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Earthly Paradise

A work made of chestnut and pine, carved and polychromed; glass, metal hardware.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of chestnut and pine, carved and polychromed; glass, metal hardware.

Date:

1888

Artist:

Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903) and Émile Bernard (French, 1868–1941)

About this artwork

Combining painting, sculpture, and carpentry, this unique object was created collaboratively by Paul Gauguin and his younger contemporary Émile Bernard. Their artistic experiments, often undertaken in the spirit of friendly competition, challenged hierarchical distinctions between fine art, grounded in aesthetics, and decorative art, associated with functionality. Bernard carved the left panel and possibly the bottom panel. Both artists incorporated animals, trees, and people from village life in Brittany, France, motifs they also used in their paintings. The figures on the right panel were inspired by Gauguin’s trip the previous year to the Caribbean island of Martinique. This visit informed his later decision to leave France, which ultimately led him to Tahiti.

Status

On View, Gallery 247

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Paul Gauguin

Title

Earthly Paradise

Place

France (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1888

Medium

Chestnut and pine, carved and polychromed; glass, metal hardware

Dimensions

101 × 120 × 60.5 cm (39 3/4 × 47 1/4 × 23 13/16 in.)

Credit Line

Through prior gift of Henry Morgen, Ann G. Morgen, Meyer Wasser, and Ruth G. Wasser; purchased with funds provided by Edward M. Blair

Reference Number

2007.247

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/188629/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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