The white horse by Paul Gauguin

This emblematic work of the Tahitian period is fully aligned with the post-impressionist and symbolist movements. The French artist Paul Gauguin delivers a dreamlike vision of Polynesian nature here through his painting entitled “Le Cheval blanc”. By freeing himself from Western realism, the author creates a poetic and spiritual harmony where the animal symbolises a wild purity preserved from any modern influence, inviting the viewer to a true mystical contemplation.

At the heart of a lush tropical vegetation, a horse with a bluish green-gray coat stands in profile, lowering its head to drink peacefully from a dark stream with orange reflections. Sinuous, dark branches elegantly intertwine in the upper part, framing the landscape with natural arabesques. In the background, a naked rider mounts a horse of a flamboyant red, while another rider can be seen higher up under the green canopy. The light seems to filter through the leaves in a diffuse way, softly illuminating the back of the main animal and revealing touches of yellow and ocher on the ground. The vertical composition and the juxtaposition of warm and cool tones create a mysterious depth.

The author’s talent is fully expressed in his way of transposing unrealistic colors to evoke a feeling of sacred serenity. His remarkable mastery of oil painting is manifested through soft chromatic transitions and the textured rendering of a world of a rare wild poetry.