- Title: Gauguin Tahitian painting set to fetch up to €7M at Paris auction
- Date: 3rd October 2019
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 3, 2019) (REUTERS) "TE BOURAO", A PAINTING FROM THE TAHITIAN PERIOD OF FRENCH POST-IMPRESSIONIST PAINTER PAUL GAUGUIN, WHICH WILL BE AUCTIONED IN PARIS IN DECEMBER, ON DISPLAY AT ARTCURIAL AUCTION HOUSE DETAIL OF BIRD FROM PAINTING PAINTING ON DISPLAY VARIOUS OF DIRECTOR OF ARTCURIAL AUCTION HOUSE'S MODERN ART DEPARTMENT, BRUNO JAUBERT, LOOKING AT PAINTING DETAIL OF MAN ON HORSE FROM PAINTING (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR OF ARTCURIAL AUCTION HOUSE'S MODERN ART DEPARTMENT, BRUNO JAUBERT, SAYING: "We are in a small valley, with a river, with lush greenery - plants, a big tree which is the central subject of the painting, and in Tahitian we call Bourao, from which the title of painting comes. Gauguin paints nature in a virgin state, with a range of colours that is quite reduced but extremely rich in blues, greens, mauves. And this ensemble gives a feeling of absolute serenity." GAUGUIN'S SIGNATURE AND TITLE "TE BOURAO" ON BOTTOM OF PAINTING PAINTING ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR OF ARTCURIAL AUCTION HOUSE'S MODERN ART DEPARTMENT, BRUNO JAUBERT, SAYING: "I think it's a painting that talks about Gaugin's position vis-a-vis the world, and above all his fondness to be in the wild. And with the back turned against Europe - because Gauguin was first in Tahiti and then in Marquise - it is precisely a reflection on who we are, where we are going, what are we becoming? And I think it's a work of art that is at once philosophical and at the same time, has strong visual quality." DETAIL OF MAN ON HORSE FROM PAINTING / BIRD (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR OF ARTCURIAL AUCTION HOUSE'S MODERN ART DEPARTMENT, BRUNO JAUBERT, SAYING: "We indicated a price of 5 to 7 million euros. It's a significant sum, of course, but relatively reasonable considering current market conditions, wherein I would say the hunt for major works or treasures at the moment is extremely vibrant." DETAIL OF BIRD FROM PAINTING (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR OF ARTCURIAL AUCTION HOUSE'S MODERN ART DEPARTMENT, BRUNO JAUBERT, SAYING: "Honestly, I think high-level institutions or collectors will be interested in this painting. Why? Because there's very little works of Gaugin from the Tahitian period in the market. The last one that was up for sale was two years ago." JAUBERT TALKING RECONSTRUCTION OF ORIGINAL DISPLAY OF TAHITIAN PAINTING SERIES BY GAUGUIN, EXHIBITED IN PARIS IN 1898 EXTERIOR OF ARTCURIAL AUCTION HOUSE WHERE PAINTING WILL BE AUCTIONED
- Embargoed: 17th October 2019 14:02
- Keywords: Gauguin painting art auction post-Impressionist artist painter Tahiti
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Art,Arts / Culture / Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA001AZJN13B
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A painting from French post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin's Tahitian period is set to fetch up to €7M ($7.64M USD) at a Paris auction in December.
The painting, which is titled "Te Bourao", depicts a stream with birds and flowers in a rich palette of blues and greens, and was painted in 1897 while the artist was living in Tahiti, an island in central Pacific.
Up for auction at Artcurial auction house in Paris on December 3, the work has an indicative price of €5-7M ($5.48-7.64M USD).
"Te Bourao" is the only work still in private hands from a series of nine paintings centred around Gauguin's masterpiece "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?"
Other works from the series are on display around the world, including at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
Bruno Jaubert, director of the modern art department at Artcurial auction house, said it is a masterpiece that is both philosophical and of high visual quality.
Gauguin has broken records in the past. In 2015, his work "When Will You Marry?", also from his Tahitian period, sold for $300m, making it the most expensive work of art ever sold at the time.
Born in Paris in 1848 and unappreciated until after his death in 1903, Gaugin was influential in the Symbolist movement and influenced modern artists like Picasso and Matisse.
His Tahitian paintings and sculpture, made between 1891 and 1901, are his most sought-after and colourful works, and very little are available in the art market.
(Production: Thierry Chiarello, Kathryn Carlson) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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