Artwork preview

Five Sheep; Head of a Woman and Head of a Bearded Man [recto]

Paul Gauguin

National Gallery of Art

The image is a double-page sketch with two different sets of drawings, separated by a vertical line in the middle. On the right page, two partial sketches of human faces are visible. One shows a person facing slightly to the left with the forehead, eyes, nose, and lips visible. This figure has short, dark hair. Below it, another sketch shows a man's head in three-quarter view with a full beard, mustache, and short hair. Both sketches focus on facial features with loose strokes for hair and expressions. The left page has a series of sketchy, upside-down drawings that appear to be partial figures of animals, possibly cats, sketched with minimal detail. There is handwriting below the sketches, but it is not legible. The background is plain, with no color or context, emphasizing the sketches.

Artwork Details

Date
1884-1888
Medium
pen and brown ink and graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
3472 × 2711 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
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