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4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2009.
The Loss of Virginity
4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2009.
4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2009.

The Loss of Virginity

Artist Paul Gauguin (French, 1848 - 1903)
Date1890-1891
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions35 1/4 × 51 1/4 in. (89.5 × 130.2 cm)
Overall, Frame: 46 × 61 1/2 × 3 in. (116.8 × 156.2 × 7.6 cm)
ClassificationsEuropean art
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.510
Terms
  • Nude
  • Woman
  • Fox
  • Flower
  • Blue
  • Green
  • White
  • Yellow
  • Pink
  • Brown
  • Synthetism
  • Cloisonism
Collections
On View
On view
DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting. Lying deathlike on the ground, a naked maiden holds a plucked flower (an iris?), a traditional symbol of lost innocence. With her left arm she embraces an evil-eyed fox, who precipitates her downfall with a paw upon her heart. In the background, composed of broad fields color with dark outlines, peasants, possibly part of a wedding party walk along a narrow path.

Label TextPaul Gauguin French, 1848–1903 The Loss of Virginity, 1890–91 Oil on canvas Watch out! A fox seems to threaten a young girl lying on the ground in rural Brittany near the French coast. The sheaf of wheat at her feet symbolizes the fertility of the land, while the menacing fox disrupts the innocence of this remote area. Soon after completing this painting, Paul Gauguin departed for Tahiti in search of a place and people uncorrupted by modern life. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.510
Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2011.
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