Art Paper

My very first memory of visiting an art museum was the Louvre Museum when I was five years old. In retrospect, I was mesmerized not by the works of art but by the fact that I was surrounded by so many foreigners for the first time in my life. And for about 10 years, I had not gone to any other art museum. I should really say, 'I could not go to an art museum,' because I simply did not have an opportunity to do so. Living in the countryside of Korea, I seldom had a chance to visit any art museum; let alone a visit to an exhibition of foreign paintings. Now, as I have come to the United States to study, I have recently started to visit art museums for various assignments. This time, my visit to the Museum of Modern Art meant more to me than just a requirement. I finally had an opportunity to go see the works of world-renowned painters, one of whom is Gauguin. Unfortunately, Washerwomen was the only work of Gauguin that was on view. However, I was immediately drawn into the painting by the fact that, somehow, the painting reminded me of typical everyday life of Korean women in the countryside several decades ago.

In Washerwomen, Gauguin presents a wide range of color, each coming together with the ones surrounding it, to create something beautifully coherent. Altogether, they communicate to provide a unified meaning to the audience. For instance, the brook is portrayed in about 10 different colors, including the shadows of the trees: light orange, sky blue, khaki, gray, dark brown, yellowish green, black, etc. However, these seemingly arbitrary colors blend together to present not so much the moment itself, but the overall mood of both the scene and the painter. I am not overwhelmed by the painting. Instead, the thick application of paint and brush strokes somehow relieve me. Perhaps, the heavy oil painting lends severity and meaning to the painting as a whole. In addition, Gauguin's palette provides yellowish color as well feeling to the painting, suggesting warmth and solace. Gauguin's use of geometric forms is emphasized on the figures of women's skirts as well as in the trees and the hill. The women's squatting positions remind me of Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island La Grande Jatte. Interestingly, none of the women expose their faces. The women's wearing of hoods suggests that perhaps they are absorbed in what they are supposed to do, because they have no choice. Upon seeing Washerwomen, the painting became more than just oil spilled on a canvas. Instead of distancing myself from the painting, I wish to discover more, and feel what those women feel.

I believe that Washerwomen is a Post-impressionist piece of work. Rather than the eyes working to interpret the painting, the painting itself explains what is to be imagined through the mind of the painter. Unlike Impressionist art, Post-impressionist art is based on "subjective feelings and the mysterious centers of