Did Gauguin Really Compare His Face to a Persian Carpet?
Gauguin, Les Misérables, 1888, oil on canvas, 45 x 55 cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
I have always been interested in stories and influences. A decade ago I spent a week helping out at Christie’s Department of Islamic Art, an unchartered territory at that time on my personal map of artistic exposure. The vibrant colours and rich history of that world immediately enchanted and captivated me, and have a hold over me to this day. This passion is shared with some of the world’s greats, which brings us to Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), who is known for his diverse and exotic sources of inspiration.
Gauguin, Les Misérables, 1888 (detail)
As he explained to friends, the facial features of his 1888 self-portrait, Les Misérables, are directly inspired by floral designs in Persian carpets.
Gauguin dedicated this self-portrait to Van Gogh, featuring in the upper right corner the profile of their mutual friend, the post-Impressionist painter Émile Bernard. When describing the portrait to Van Gogh, Gauguin excitedly wrote that he had drawn inspiration for the shape of the eyes, nose and mouth from flowers on Persian carpets. In describing the similarity in a letter to another friend, the artist Émile Schuffenecker, Gauguin illustrated the connection between the floral designs and his features.
Gauguin’s letter to Schuffenecker, 1888, reproduced from Fereshteh Daftari, The Influence of Persian Art on Gauguin, Matisse, and Kandinsky (New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1991)
Gauguin was familiar with Islamic art from the collection of his godfather, Gustav Arosa (a banker whose daughter had taught the young artist how to paint in oil). He also saw Islamic art at the Louvre, and likely at the 1878 Paris World Fair and the many Orientalist temporary exhibitions being held in Paris at the time.
I don’t know which carpets Gauguin was looking at in particular, but here are some designs he could have seen, taking inspiration for the shape of the eyebrows and the nose, and the colour of the eyes.
Next time you walk on a Persian carpet, see if you recognize yourself in its design!