Description
In this large-scale canvas, one of several Paul Gauguin sent back to France in 1897, women of varying ages appear to go about daily life within a colorful, stylized outdoor environment. Like much of the artist’s work, this painting combines observed detail with artistic fantasy to create a dreamlike scene whose narrative resists simple interpretation. The work’s deliberately provocative title enhances this effect, leaving us to wonder if the “you” refers to someone in the painting or to the viewer.
Provenance
Mme. Ernest Chausson, Paris by 1904 [see Brussels 1904 and Wildenstein 1964]. Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York by 1923 [see New York 1923]; sold to Martin A. Ryerson (died 1932), Chicago on February 20, 1925 [see purchase receipt dated February 20, 1925, copy in curatorial file]; bequeathed to the Art Institute, 1933.
Accession Number
16496
Medium
Oil on jute canvas
Dimensions
95.3 × 130.6 cm (37 1/2 × 51 3/8 in.); Framed: 116.6 × 153.1 × 6.7 cm (45 7/8 × 60 1/4 × 2 5/8 in.)
Classification
painting
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection
