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Description
This still life contains elements from two cultures-Brittany and Martinique-which suggest Gauguin's interest in so-called "primitive" art. The pitcher comes from the small Breton village of Quimper, whose pottery only ceased production in 1983. Sophisticated Parisians viewed this type of pottery as rustic, even inferior when compared to more elegant glazed earthenware produced in other factories. For Gauguin, however, elements of the "naive" or even "primitive" were appealing. Gauguin visited Martinique in 1887, when he painted the canvas "Dans les vagues" (In the waves) which appears in the background. The female figure throws herself into the ocean, the waving arc of her body mirrors the Quimper pitcher. She becomes as much a part of the surface patterning as the pitcher or the tablecloth.
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