Jug in the form of a Head, Self-portrait
Encyclopedia
Jug in the form of a Head, Self-portrait (usually referred to as the Jug Self-portrait) was produced in glazed stoneware early in 1889 by the French Post-Impressionist
artist Paul Gauguin
. This self-portrayal is especially stark and brutal, and was created in the aftermath of two traumatic events in the artist's life. In December 1888 Gauguin was staying with Vincent van Gogh
in Arles when Van Gogh hacked off his left ear lobe before presenting it to a prostitute. A few days later Gauguin witnessed the beheading of a criminal in Paris. In the self-portrait, Gauguin shows his severed head, dripping with rivulets of blood, his ear cut off, and his eyes closed as if in denial.
Gauguin's portrays himself with closed eyes and a severed ear. Glaze
is used to suggest blood which runs down the side of his face to congeal at his neck. As with many of his self-portraits the object is infused with self-pity. The head resembles a death mask, and the way it is modelled strongly suggests that it has been decapitated, reminiscent of Prado. The portrait evokes Van Gogh in a number of ways, most obviously with the removed ear and its dominant red colouring which gives it, according to writer Naomi Margolis Maurer, "a strong fictitious resemblance to the suffering van Gogh."
The stoneware
contains subtle green, grey and olive tones that are often not apparent in reproduction, while its brutal physicality is in part achieved by its three-dimensionality. It has been noted by a number of art critics that photographic reproductions of the object largely fail to convey the impact it makes when viewed firsthand. In 1989 the critic Laurel Gasque wrote, "This macabre image, fired at a very high temperature literally and figuratively, fuses life, myth, and history into an unforgettable emblem of a ravaged man."
, and was the first to find the Dutch artist immediately after he had cut off his own ear, lying unconscious with his head covered in blood. Van Gogh greatly admired Gauguin, and desperately wanted to be treated as his equal. But Gauguin was arrogant and domineering, a fact that often frustrated the Dutchman. Earlier that day Van Gogh had confronted Gauguin with the same razor-blade used hours later to mutilate himself. Deeply lonely at the time, Van Gogh often visited the prostitutes at a brothel
on Rue du Bout d'Aeles as his single emotional and sensuous point of contact with other people. His severed ear was left with one, before he staggered back to the room he was sharing with Gauguin.
According to art critic Martin Gayford, prostitutes were to van Gogh Sisters of Mercy
, providing "a little taste of paradise at 2 franc
s a time". He was around this time reading about Christ's agony in the garden of Gethsemane
, where Jesus prayed with his disciples the night before his crucifixion. The story struck a deep chord, in particular the words "If thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done". A recent series of murders of prostitutes were playing on his mind, and added to his sense of guilt for visiting whores. He had recently read Émile Zola
's novel "The Sin of Father Mouret", in which a character "as Father Mournet was finishing his prayers...calmly pulled a knife from his pocket, opened it, and chopped off the friar's ears."
There is no conclusive evidence for the theory that the unpredictable Gauguin attacked his equally temperamental friend that day . When Vincent's brother Theo arrived at the Arles hospital
a few days later—after being informed of the event by Gauguin—he spoke of Vincent's irrationality, high fever and apparent "madness" in the days before the mutilation.
From his hospital bed, Van Gogh asked for Gauguin continually over the next number of days, but the Frenchman stayed away. He told one of the policeman attending the case, "Be kind enough, Monsieur, to awaken this man with great care, and if he asks for me tell him I have left for Paris; the sight of me might prove fatal for him." From accounts related by Gauguin to friends on his arrival back in Paris a few days later, it has been suggested that he also associated the amputation with Gethsemane.
On December 28, two days after his return to Paris, Gauguin went to the dawn execution of the criminal Prado. Van Gogh and Gauguin had talked about Prado's high profile trial. Both Prado and the equally infamous murderer Pranzini were at one time patrons at the Parisian café Le Tambourin where Van Gogh had exhibited. The execution left a deep mark on the artist and soured the artist's view of humanity. The execution was botched; the first strike of the guillotine
's blade missed Prado's neck and carved off a portion of his face. The man rose from the head-board in agony and shock and had to be forced back into position before the second attempt removed his head.
Gauguin's attendance at the execution was as a result of the deep shock left by Van Gogh's self-mutilation. Writer Jerome Winer suggests that Gauguin may have felt guilty over his treatment of Van Gogh to identify with Prado. According to Bradley Collins, "There is no question that Gauguin would have strongly associated Vincent with the execution". Collins continues, "If Gauguin had been terrified by the sight of the near-dead Vincent curled up in his bloody sheets, he may have had the counterphobic desire to reassure himself of his courage by taking an unflinching look at Prado's execution. He may also have wanted to glory in his own innocence and another's guilt."
and Symbolist
iconography, as well as motifs from Christian and classical sources; it evokes Christ, John the Baptist
and Orpheus
, all of whom were martyred
for their passion and beliefs. During this period, Gauguin often portrayed himself in a manner similar to representations of Christ, in an attempt to evoke martyrdom. Gauguin was disillusioned with the materialism he saw around him, and at the time felt alienated by the art-buying public, and from members of the art scene who reacted against his domineering and self-aggrandising personality. Younger artists who had been his disciples rebelled, and to an extent he was sidelined. Of another similar self-portrait, Christ in the Garden of Olives, Gauguin wrote
The technique used to create the object was borrowed in part from the Far East, especially in the use of dripped paint on glazed stoneware which was influenced by Japanese craftsmen of the Takatori region. The idea of merging the form of a head and a jug was taken from Peru
vian pottery
, likely from pieces his mother had collected when he was a child.
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism is the term coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. Fry used the term when he organized the 1910 exhibition Manet and Post-Impressionism...
artist Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
. This self-portrayal is especially stark and brutal, and was created in the aftermath of two traumatic events in the artist's life. In December 1888 Gauguin was staying with Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
in Arles when Van Gogh hacked off his left ear lobe before presenting it to a prostitute. A few days later Gauguin witnessed the beheading of a criminal in Paris. In the self-portrait, Gauguin shows his severed head, dripping with rivulets of blood, his ear cut off, and his eyes closed as if in denial.
Gauguin's portrays himself with closed eyes and a severed ear. Glaze
Ceramic glaze
Glaze is a layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color, decorate, strengthen or waterproof it.-Use:...
is used to suggest blood which runs down the side of his face to congeal at his neck. As with many of his self-portraits the object is infused with self-pity. The head resembles a death mask, and the way it is modelled strongly suggests that it has been decapitated, reminiscent of Prado. The portrait evokes Van Gogh in a number of ways, most obviously with the removed ear and its dominant red colouring which gives it, according to writer Naomi Margolis Maurer, "a strong fictitious resemblance to the suffering van Gogh."
The stoneware
Stoneware
Stoneware is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic ware with a fine texture. Stoneware is made from clay that is then fired in a kiln, whether by an artisan to make homeware, or in an industrial kiln for mass-produced or specialty products...
contains subtle green, grey and olive tones that are often not apparent in reproduction, while its brutal physicality is in part achieved by its three-dimensionality. It has been noted by a number of art critics that photographic reproductions of the object largely fail to convey the impact it makes when viewed firsthand. In 1989 the critic Laurel Gasque wrote, "This macabre image, fired at a very high temperature literally and figuratively, fuses life, myth, and history into an unforgettable emblem of a ravaged man."
Background
A number of events in Gauguin's life led to the object's creation. During December of the previous year he had visited his friend Van Gogh in ArlesArles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
, and was the first to find the Dutch artist immediately after he had cut off his own ear, lying unconscious with his head covered in blood. Van Gogh greatly admired Gauguin, and desperately wanted to be treated as his equal. But Gauguin was arrogant and domineering, a fact that often frustrated the Dutchman. Earlier that day Van Gogh had confronted Gauguin with the same razor-blade used hours later to mutilate himself. Deeply lonely at the time, Van Gogh often visited the prostitutes at a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
on Rue du Bout d'Aeles as his single emotional and sensuous point of contact with other people. His severed ear was left with one, before he staggered back to the room he was sharing with Gauguin.
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
, providing "a little taste of paradise at 2 franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
s a time". He was around this time reading about Christ's agony in the garden of Gethsemane
Gethsemane
Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
, where Jesus prayed with his disciples the night before his crucifixion. The story struck a deep chord, in particular the words "If thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done". A recent series of murders of prostitutes were playing on his mind, and added to his sense of guilt for visiting whores. He had recently read Émile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
's novel "The Sin of Father Mouret", in which a character "as Father Mournet was finishing his prayers...calmly pulled a knife from his pocket, opened it, and chopped off the friar's ears."
There is no conclusive evidence for the theory that the unpredictable Gauguin attacked his equally temperamental friend that day . When Vincent's brother Theo arrived at the Arles hospital
Hospital in Arles (Van Gogh series)
Hospital at Arles is the subject of two paintings that Vincent van Gogh made of the hospital in which he stayed in December 1888 and again in January 1889. The hospital is located in Arles in southern France...
a few days later—after being informed of the event by Gauguin—he spoke of Vincent's irrationality, high fever and apparent "madness" in the days before the mutilation.
From his hospital bed, Van Gogh asked for Gauguin continually over the next number of days, but the Frenchman stayed away. He told one of the policeman attending the case, "Be kind enough, Monsieur, to awaken this man with great care, and if he asks for me tell him I have left for Paris; the sight of me might prove fatal for him." From accounts related by Gauguin to friends on his arrival back in Paris a few days later, it has been suggested that he also associated the amputation with Gethsemane.
On December 28, two days after his return to Paris, Gauguin went to the dawn execution of the criminal Prado. Van Gogh and Gauguin had talked about Prado's high profile trial. Both Prado and the equally infamous murderer Pranzini were at one time patrons at the Parisian café Le Tambourin where Van Gogh had exhibited. The execution left a deep mark on the artist and soured the artist's view of humanity. The execution was botched; the first strike of the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
's blade missed Prado's neck and carved off a portion of his face. The man rose from the head-board in agony and shock and had to be forced back into position before the second attempt removed his head.
Gauguin's attendance at the execution was as a result of the deep shock left by Van Gogh's self-mutilation. Writer Jerome Winer suggests that Gauguin may have felt guilty over his treatment of Van Gogh to identify with Prado. According to Bradley Collins, "There is no question that Gauguin would have strongly associated Vincent with the execution". Collins continues, "If Gauguin had been terrified by the sight of the near-dead Vincent curled up in his bloody sheets, he may have had the counterphobic desire to reassure himself of his courage by taking an unflinching look at Prado's execution. He may also have wanted to glory in his own innocence and another's guilt."
Iconography
The work is informed by RomanticRomanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
and Symbolist
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
iconography, as well as motifs from Christian and classical sources; it evokes Christ, John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
and Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
, all of whom were martyred
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
for their passion and beliefs. During this period, Gauguin often portrayed himself in a manner similar to representations of Christ, in an attempt to evoke martyrdom. Gauguin was disillusioned with the materialism he saw around him, and at the time felt alienated by the art-buying public, and from members of the art scene who reacted against his domineering and self-aggrandising personality. Younger artists who had been his disciples rebelled, and to an extent he was sidelined. Of another similar self-portrait, Christ in the Garden of Olives, Gauguin wrote
- There I have painted my own self portrait ... but it also represents the crushing of an ideal, and a pain that is both divine and human, Jesus is totally abandoned; his disciples are leaving him, in a setting as sad as his soul.
The technique used to create the object was borrowed in part from the Far East, especially in the use of dripped paint on glazed stoneware which was influenced by Japanese craftsmen of the Takatori region. The idea of merging the form of a head and a jug was taken from Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, likely from pieces his mother had collected when he was a child.
Sources
- Collins, Bradley. Van Gogh and Gauguin: Electric Arguments and Utopian Dreams. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8133-3595-7
- Cachin, Francoise. Gauguin. Flammarion, 1990. ISBN 2-0803-0430-5
- Druick, Douglas; Druick, Peter; Salvesen, Britt; Lister; Kristin. Van Gogh and Gauguin: the studio of the south. Art Institute of Chicago with Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, 2001. ISBN 0-5005-1054-7
- Galbally, Ann. A Remarkable Friendship: Vincent Van Gogh and John Peter Russell. Miegunyah Press, 2008. ISBN 0-5228-5376-5
- Gasque, Laurel. "Gauguin: Sight and Sound". ThirdWay, Volume 12, No 4, April 1989.
- Gayford, Martin. The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Provence. New York: Mariner Books, 2008. ISBN 0-6189-9058-5
- Margolis Maurer, Naomi. The Pursuit of Spiritual Wisdom: Thought and Art of Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8386-3749-3
- Winer, Jerome. The Annual of Psychoanalysis, Volume 22 New York: Routledge, 1995. ISBN 0-8816-3135-3