Two Breton Girls by the Sea|Paul Gauguin |Search Collection

Updated 15 March 2023

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On Display

Special Exhibition Wing

Paul Gauguin

Paris, 1848 - Atuona, Hiva'Oa, Marquesas Islands, 1903

Two Breton Girls by the Sea

Date	1889
Materials and Techniques	oil on canvas
Size（cm）	92.5 x 73.6
Inscriptions	Signed and dated lower right: P Gauguin 89
Credit Line	Matsukata Collection
Standard ref.	Wildenstein 340; M493
Category	Paintings
Collection Number	P.1959-0106

After his short stay with van Gogh in Arles, Gauguin once again chose Brittany as the site of his work during 1889 and 1890. Two Breton Girls by the Sea is one of the best examples of this period, and its planar use of bright red, green and blue pigments speaks of the creation of his "Cloisonnism", a style characterized by distinctive outlines, that became his signature. This work was created in the Brittany town of Le Pouldu during the autumn of 1889 and depicts two young girls wearing the clothing of the region. A preparatory sketch drawn in pastels showing only the two figures is currently in a private collection in London. Here, the large-scale completed composition brings the forms of these two girls to the very edge of the image's front left, while its flat application of pigments was undoubtedly a revolutionary form for the period. Gauguin took this style one step further after his 1891 departure for Tahiti. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no.87)

Provenance

John Levy Galleries, Paris; purchased from the above by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe, 1921, as “Deux petites bretonnes” [see letter from John Levy Galleries to Léonce Bénédite, dated 22 November 1921, in the Bibliothèque centrale des musées nationaux, Paris (copy in NMWA curatorial file)]; sequestered by French government, 1944; vested in French government under San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1952; transferred from French to Japanese government, 23 January 1959; entered into NMWA, April 1959.

Exhibition History

1947: Les origines de l'art contemporain, Strasbourg, 0 1947 - 0 1947, Besançon; Nancy, 1947, cat. no. 61
1948: Gli impressionisti alla XXIV Biennale di Venezia, Venezia, 0 1948 - 0 1948, cat. no. 82
1949: Gauguin, Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, 0 1949 - 0 1949, cat. no. 20
1949: Landscape in French art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 0 1949 - 0 1950, cat. no. 286
1950: Gauguin et le groupe de Pont-Aven, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Quimper, 0 1950 - 0 1950, cat. no. 9
1951: Le fauvisme, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, 0 1951 - 0 1951, cat. no. 8
1953: Van Gogh's grote tijdgenoten, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 0 1953 - 0 1953, Krölder-Müller Museum, Otterlo, cat. no. 10
1958: Paysages de France, Musée de Rouen, 0 1958 - 0 1958, cat. no. 78
1960: The Masterpieces of the Ex-Matsukata Collection, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 14 May 1960 - 10 July 1960, cat. no. 44, repr.
1962: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Hakutsuru Museum, Kobe, 20 October 1962 - 5 November 1962, P-155
1962: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Art Gallery of Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya, 17 November 1962 - 9 December 1962, cat. no. 28 (当館記録による）
1963: The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Shimane Prefectural Museum, Matsue, 5 October 1963 - 20 October 1963, P-155
1963: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Ishibashi Museum of Art, Kurume, 26 October 1963 - 10 November 1963, P-155
1964: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Nakajima Sports Center of Hokkaido Prefecture, 22 August 1964 - 13 September 1964, cat. no. 34
1965: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Kanazawa, 22 September 1965 - 10 October 1965, cat. no. 28
1965: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Okayama Prefecture, Okayama, 20 October 1965 - 7 November 1965, cat. no. 28
1966: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Wakayama Prefectural Museum of Art, Wakayama, 15 October 1966 - 4 November 1966, cat. no. 22
1966: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Oita Prefecture, Oita, 12 November 1966 - 27 November 1966, cat. no. 22
1967: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Kagoshima Municipal Museum of Art, 28 April 1967 - 21 May 1967, cat. no. 22
1968: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Niigata Prefectural Museum, Niigata, 14 July 1968 - 4 August 1968, cat. no. 28
1968: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art, Hiroshima, 26 October 1968 - 17 November 1968, cat. no. 28
1969: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Ibaraki Prefecture, Mito, 22 November 1969 - 21 December 1969, cat. no. 27
1970: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Nagasaki Prefectural Museum, Nagasaki, 18 October 1970 - 15 November 1970, cat. no. 28
1971: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Toyama Prefectural Center, Museum of Art, Toyama, 2 October 1971 - 24 October 1971, cat. no. 25
1972: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Shinano Museum of Art of Nagano Prefecture, Nagano, 12 October 1972 - 5 November 1972, cat. no. 27
1973: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Kochi Prefecture, Kochi, 28 October 1973 - 25 November 1973, cat. no. 29
1974: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Cultural Center of Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, 13 October 1974 - 10 November 1974, cat. no. 28
1974: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Saga Prefectural Museum, Saga, 16 November 1974 - 1 December 1974, cat. no. 28
1975: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Yamagata Museum, Yamagata, 1 November 1975 - 30 November 1975, cat. no. 28
1976: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Tottori Prefectural Museum, Tottori, 9 October 1976 - 7 November 1976, cat. no. 29
1977: [Tour Exhibition] The Matsukata Collection of the National Museum of Western Art, The Nara Prefectural Museum, Nara, 15 October 1977 - 13 November 1977, cat. no. 26
1978: [Tour Exhibition] Masterpieces from the National Museum of Western Art, The Art Center of Oita Prefecture, Oita, 20 December 1978 - 31 January 1979, cat. no. 20
1979: French Paintings at the End of 19th Century and the Beginning of the 20th Century in Japanese Collections, Hermitage, Leningrad, 0 1979 - 0 1979, Vilnius Museum, Vilnius; Puschkin Museum, Moscow, 1979, cat. no. 18, repr.
1987: Paul Gauguin , The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 6 March 1987 - 17 May 1987, cat. no. 32, col. repr.
1989: Gauguin, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 10 January 1989 - 24 April 1989, cat. no. 91, col. repr.
1994: Van Gogh, His Sources, Genius and Influence, Queensland Art Gallery, 22 January 1994 - 13 March 1994, cat. no. 52, col. repr.
1996: The Crossing Visions: European and Modern Japanese Art from the Collections of The National Museum of Western Art & The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 20 July 1996 - 8 September 1996, cat. no. 44
2000: Tanka at the National Museum of Western Art: An Encounter between Poet and Art, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 25 July 2000 - 29 October 2000, cat. no. 46
2005: Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi , Museum Collection, 10 October 2005 - 11 December 2005
2009: Paul Gauguin, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 3 July 2009 - 23 September 2009, cat. no. 10, col. repr.
2013: Monet, An Eye for Landscapes: Innovation in 19th Century French Landscape Paintings, Pola Museum of Art, 13 July 2013 - 24 November 2013, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 7 December 2013-9 March 2014, cat. no. 53, col. repr.
2015: Japan's Love for Impressionism: From Monet to Renoir, Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, 8 October 2015 - 21 February 2016, cat. no. 101, col. repr.
2019: The Matsukata Collection: A One-Hundred-Year Odyssey: Upon the 60th Anniversary of the NMWA, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 11 June 2019 - 23 September 2019, cat. no. 104, col. repr.
2022: In Dialogue with Nature - from Friedrich, Monet and Van Gogh to Richter, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 4 June 2022 - 11 September 2022, cat. no. 50

Bibliography

1930: Alexandre, A. Paul Gauguin, sa vie et le sens de son œuvre. Paris, 1930, p. 250.
1948: Réne-Jean. Gauguin. Paris, 1948, repr.
1950: Dovski, L. van. Gauguin. Bern, 1950, p. 343.
1953: Estienne, Ch. Gauguin. Genève, 1953, p. 48, col. repr.
1955: La Collection Matsukata, Tokyo, Asahi- Shimbun, 1955 (Japanese), no. 23, col. repr.
1961: Catalogue du Musée National d'Art Occidental, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1961 (Préface and Catalogue Général in Japanese and French), P-155.
1964: Wildenstein, G. Gauguin. 1, catalogue, Paris, 1964, p. 130-131, no. 340. repr.
1971: Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1971 (Japanese), no. 34, col. repr.
1973: Daval, J.-L. Journal de l'art moderne 1884-1914. Genève, 1973, p. 90, repr.
1975: Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1975 (Japanese), no. 53, col. repr.
1978: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1978 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 59, col. repr.
1979: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of Paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 129, repr.
1990: The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 703.
2006: Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 87, col. repr.
2009: Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 87, col. repr.
2013: Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 106, col. repr.
2013: MONET, An Eye For Landscapes: Innovation in 19th Century French Landscape Paintings(exh. cat.). Tokyo, TBS, c2013, cat. no. 53, col. repr.
2015: Japan's Love for Impressionism: From Monet to Renoir (exh. cat.). Marks-Hanssen, Beate, ed. Bonn, Bundeskunsthalle, 2015, pp. 170-171, 246, cat. no. 101, col. repr.
2016: Cariou, André. Gauguin et ses Camarades de L'école de Pont-Aven au Pouldu. Spezet, Coop Breizh, 2016, cover, p. 34, col. repr.
2018: The Matsukata Collection: Complete Catalogue of the European Art. Kawaguchi, Masako; Jingaoka, Megumi, eds. vol. 1: Paintings, Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2018, cat. no. 493, col. repr.

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