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Entrance to the Village of Osny
Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903)
1882–83
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
60 x 72.7 cm (23 5/8 x 28 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of John T. Spaulding
Accession Number48.545
OUT ON LOAN
On display at Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, FL, November 18, 2023 – April 28, 2024
On display at Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, FL, November 18, 2023 – April 28, 2024
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Beginning in the mid-1870s, when he was still a “Sunday painter,” Gauguin spent much time with the Impressionists, exhibiting with them and collecting their paintings. The lively color, small brushstrokes, and unassuming subject of this village view reflect the influence of Pissarro, with whom Gauguin worked in 1882 and 1883 in Pontoise and Osny. The way Gauguin groups strokes of paint directionally and compresses the spatial midground demonstrates his familiarity with Cézanne’s working methods; the Provençal artist had also painted alongside Gauguin and Pissarro in Pontoise.
Provenance1883, given by the artist to Camille Pissarro (b. 1830 - d. 1903), Paris [see note 1]; by descent to his widow, Mme. Pissarro [see note 2]; 1919, sold by Mme. Pissarro to Durand-Ruel, Paris (stock nos. 11900 and 12311) and New York (stock no. 4538); March 28, 1921, sold by Durand-Ruel, New York to John Taylor Spaulding (b. 1870 - d. 1948), Boston; 1948, bequest of John Taylor Spaulding to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 3, 1948)
NOTES:
[1] According to information provided by Mme. Pissarro to Durand-Ruel (see below, n. 2), Gauguin gave this painting to Pissarro during his stay in Pontoise. Gauguin visited Pissarro in Osny, a village on the northwestern edge of Pontoise, in June and July of 1883.
[2] A letter from Durand-Ruel to John Taylor Spaulding (April 1, 1921) confirmed that the painting had been given by Gauguin to Pissarro, but states that Pissarro sold it to Jean-Baptiste Faure and that it had been sold at his estate sale. This information is corrected in a subsequent letter, from E. G. Holston of Durand-Ruel to John Taylor Spaulding (January 9, 1933; in MFA curatorial file): "The real story is that after Pissarro's death we purchased from Mme. Pissarro some of his canvases and they were sent to our Paris Gallery and on examination we found one that was unsigned which we know was not by Pissarro.... When Mme. Pissarro came to Paris we asked her and she stated that it was a Gauguin given to Pissarro during his stay in Pontoise."
NOTES:
[1] According to information provided by Mme. Pissarro to Durand-Ruel (see below, n. 2), Gauguin gave this painting to Pissarro during his stay in Pontoise. Gauguin visited Pissarro in Osny, a village on the northwestern edge of Pontoise, in June and July of 1883.
[2] A letter from Durand-Ruel to John Taylor Spaulding (April 1, 1921) confirmed that the painting had been given by Gauguin to Pissarro, but states that Pissarro sold it to Jean-Baptiste Faure and that it had been sold at his estate sale. This information is corrected in a subsequent letter, from E. G. Holston of Durand-Ruel to John Taylor Spaulding (January 9, 1933; in MFA curatorial file): "The real story is that after Pissarro's death we purchased from Mme. Pissarro some of his canvases and they were sent to our Paris Gallery and on examination we found one that was unsigned which we know was not by Pissarro.... When Mme. Pissarro came to Paris we asked her and she stated that it was a Gauguin given to Pissarro during his stay in Pontoise."