I love Prussian Blue because of this myth – not because I like the colour
Prussian Blue has got to be the best colour in the world, a colour that allegedly Paul Gaugin borrowed from Emile Bernard to paint his ‘Vision After The Sermon’. His Impressionist palette didn’t contain this glorious hue.
Looking back at old paintings you have done in the past is like looking at old photographs
Vision after the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel) is an oil painting by French artist Paul Gauguin in 1888. It is now in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. It depicts a scene from The Bible, where Jacob wrestles an angel. A vision or hallucination that the Breton women experience after a sermon in church. Painted in Pont-Aven, Brittany, France – the inherent spiritality of subjects in this painting, the influence of the cloisonnist style, all point towards a great painting and a break through in 19th century art.
This is one of those paintings I needed to see – it was an important turning point in art history. The bold use of colour was deep rooted and part of the bedrock of the Synthetist style of modern art – an extension of the pioneering vision of other artist including Emile Bernard.
Related articles
