GAJS.COM Web Catalogue Paul Gauguin

Attractive letter of Paul Gauguin to fellow artist Felix Bracquemond

GAUGUIN, PAUL. (1848-1903). French painter. Rare Autograph Letter Signed, “P. Gauguin,” in French. One full page, octavo. No place, “Thursday,” March 28, 1886. Very fine condition. To Felix Bracquemond, noted French lithographer, etcher and intimate of Pissarro, Degas and Cassatt. Gauguin writes:

“Thank you for having thought of me; you intrigue me with this thing which could interest me! I will wait for you on Saturday, and I will see you with pleasure. Regards to the wife, yours truly, P. Gauguin.”

After unsuccessfully pursuing a business career in Copenhagen, Paul Gauguin returned to Paris in 1885 and devoted himself to painting. Still, he struggled to support the family he had left behind in Denmark. Soon after writing this letter, his prospects brightened when he spent five months in Breton on the advice of a fellow artist. During his time at the quite village of Pont-Aven, “there was a distinct progress in his mastery of form at this time: there was a more conscious stylization of figures and landscape elements, and his compositions became both better ordered and more daring” (Grove Art Online). This same year saw the publication of Gauguin’s Synthetic Notes, a work that revealed Neo-Romantic sensibilities and made clear Gauguin’s intention to move beyond the ideas of Impressionism. It was a truly transformative period for Gauguin, which culminated in his first mature works, including his striking Vision at the Sermon: Jacob Wrestling the Angel (1888). The recipient of our letter, Felix Bracquemond, [(1833-1914), French printmaker, designer, painter, and writer] trained in early youth as a trade lithographer, and, at just nineteen, was already attracting attention for his portraits. Soon thereafter, he applied himself to engraving and etching, and went on to play a leading part in the revival of etching in France. (Altogether he produced over eight hundred plates). A central force in the Parisian artistic and literary avant-garde, Bracquemond established firm friendships with, among others, Édouard Manet and James McNeill Whistler, and received myriad of honors, including the grade of officer of the Legion of Honor in 1889.


Attractive letter of Paul Gauguin to fellow artist Felix Bracquemond GAUGUIN, PAUL. (1848-1903). French painter. Rare Autograph Letter Signed, “P. Gauguin,” in French. One full page, octavo. No place, “Thursday,” March 28, 1886. Very fine condition. To Felix Bracquemond, noted French lithographer, etcher and intimate of Pissarro, Degas and Cassatt. Gauguin writes: “Thank you for having thought of me; you intrigue me with this thing which could interest me! I will wait for you on Saturday, and I will see you with pleasure. Regards to the wife, yours truly, P. Gauguin.” After unsuccessfully pursuing a business career in Copenhagen, Paul Gauguin returned to Paris in 1885 and devoted himself to painting. Still, he struggled to support the family he had left behind in Denmark. Soon after writing this letter, his prospects brightened when he spent five months in Breton on the advice of a fellow artist. During his time at the quite village of Pont-Aven, “there was a distinct progress in his mastery of form at this time: there was a more conscious stylization of figures and landscape elements, and his compositions became both better ordered and more daring” (Grove Art Online). This same year saw the publication of Gauguin’s Synthetic Notes, a work that revealed Neo-Romantic sensibilities and made clear Gauguin’s intention to move beyond the ideas of Impressionism. It was a truly transformative period for Gauguin, which culminated in his first mature works, including his striking Vision at the Sermon: Jacob Wrestling the Angel (1888). The recipient of our letter, Felix Bracquemond, [(1833-1914), French printmaker, designer, painter, and writer] trained in early youth as a trade lithographer, and, at just nineteen, was already attracting attention for his portraits. Soon thereafter, he applied himself to engraving and etching, and went on to play a leading part in the revival of etching in France. (Altogether he produced over eight hundred plates). A central force in the Parisian artistic and literary avant-garde, Bracquemond established firm friendships with, among others, Édouard Manet and James McNeill Whistler, and received myriad of honors, including the grade of officer of the Legion of Honor in 1889. For more details or to buy this item, please contact us. $11,500
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