“Blue Roofs (Rouen)”
This oil on canvas painting, titled “Blue Roofs (Rouen)”, is by the French Post-Impressionist and symbolist artist, Paul Gauguin, and dates to 1884. Rouen is a city in northern France and in 1884, Gauguin moved his family here.
This was painted during a semi-tumultuous time in Gauguin’s life, just after he was fired from his job in the Parisian stock market following a large market crash, and just before his marriage fell apart. He was having difficulty supporting his family and sought odd jobs while living in Rouen but was unsuccessful. By the end of the year, the family left Rouen for Denmark to get the financial support of his wife’s family.
This painting was done in an impressionism style, before Gauguin developed his own unique painting style. In the early years of his art career, Gauguin studied under Camille Pissarro who introduced him to many impressionist artists. Gauguin exhibited his works during the Impressionist exhibitions of 1876, 1880, 1880, 1882, and 1886. Soon after, his signature style of bold colors and flattened perspectives began to develop.
“Blue Roofs (Rouen)” is currently on display at the Oskar-Reinhart Foundation Museum in Winterthur, Switzerland.
For more on Paul Gauguin, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
