Spirit of the Dead Watching 1892

Question 1

Name of the Painting and Date

Answer 1

Spirit of the Dead Watching 1892

Question 2

Use of Materials/ technology

Answer 2

1. Gauguin used oil paints which have a slow drying time, this allowed him to develop his painting gradually, adding and blending paint over a sustained period of time. This allowed Gauguin to create subtle variations of colour & tone on his model’s skin, effectively conveying the form of her body.
2. This contrasts with the much flatter handling of paint in the yellow bed sheet which acts as a stark frame around the girl’s body.
3. Gauguin scumbles layers of blue purple and pink paint on top of each other to create the impression of a night sky glowing with the light from the erupting volcanoes in the background.

Question 3

Working methods what 4 things to talk about?

Answer 3

1. Oil paints
2. Photographic reproductions
3. realism
4. Handling of paint

Question 4

Working methods 4 things

Answer 4

1. Gauguin used oil paints which have a slow drying time that allowed him to develop his painting gradually, this method involves adding and blending paint over a sustained period of time. This allowed Gauguin to create subtle variations of colour & tone on Teha’amana’s skin, effectively conveying the form of her body

2.
Gauguin is also known to have taken a large number of photographic reproductions with him to Tahiti which he used as inspiration for his paintings. Here the profile figure of Tupapau is inspired by images of Egyptian relief sculptures that Gauguin had with him.

3.Gauguin is known to have created drawings and paintings of his young wife, Teha’amana from life. This allowed him to closely observe details and achieve strong sense of realism in the figure in this painting.

4. This contrasts with the much flatter handling of paint in the yellow bed sheet which acts as a stark frame around the girl’s body.
   Gauguin scumbles layers of blue purple and pink paint on top of each other to create the impression of a night sky glowing with the light from the erupting volcanoes in the background.

Question 5

Use of Techniques - What are the 3 uses of techniques?

Answer 5

1. Brushstrokes
2. Tonal modelling
3. Contrast

Question 6

Use of Techniques 3 things

Answer 6

1. The directional brushstrokes of yellow paint effectively convey the energetic volcanic explosions in the imagined landscape behind the figure adding to the sense of tension in the painting.

2.Gauguin demonstrates subtle tonal modelling of Teha’amana’s body creating a convincing sense of form and physical presence in the dim light.

3. Gauguin contrasts the subtle modelling of Teha’amana with the planes of flat paint to describe the spirit. In so doing, Gauguin effectively conveys a distinction between the physical and spiritual in this painting.

Question 7

Use of scale -what 3 use of scale to talk about?

Answer 7

1. Dimensions
2. Bodily proportions
3. Figure

Question 8

Use of scale 3 things

Answer 8

1. The dimensions of Spirit of the Dead Watching are 116cm x 135cm. This is an imposing scale, giving the painting considerable visual impact. However, the scale of the model as under life-size contributes to her sense of vulnerability.

2.Her bodily proportions are accurate and realistic. Gauguin creates a strong sense of realism in the depiction of the figure in contrast with the more fantastical elements of the composition.

3. The figure of Gauguin’s young wife, Teha’amana, nearly fills the length of the composition. Her dominant scale in the picture clearly makes her the main subject of the painting. By doing this Gauguin foregrounds her naked body as a symbol for her fear and vulnerability.

Question 9

Subject Matter -What 3 things to talk about?

Answer 9

1. His wife
2. Figure in the background
3. Inspiration returning to his lover

Question 10

Subject Matter -3 things

Answer 10

1. Gauguin unashamedly presents his 13 year old “wife”, naked in bed, as the central subject of this painting. Aware of the stir this would cause to a French audience, Gauguin presents himself as a “noble savage” who rejected the conventions of so-called “civilized” society.
2. The statuesque figure of Tupapau looms menacingly in the background creating a sense of tension and unease. (REPETITION: MOOD & ATMOSPHERE)
   Tehamana’s open palms and and staring eyes effectively communicate the fear of a young girl at the moment she has awoken from a nightmare:
3. The inspiration for this painting came from and incident when Gauguin returned late at night to his teenage lover, in Gauguin’s words “ … motionless, naked, belly down on the bed: she stared up at me, her eyes wide with fear, ‘… Perhaps she took me, with my anguished face, for one of those legendary demons or specters, the Tupapaus that filled the sleepless nights of her people.” Gauguin uses this personal experience to present us with a psychologically charged painting in which the physical and the spiritual co-exist.

Question 11

Mood and atmosphere - What 3 things to talk about?

Answer 11

1. Colour
2. figure in background and fear
3. Warm exotic feeling

Question 12

Mood and atmosphere - 3 things

Answer 12

1. Gauguin believed that colours should be used to communicate an emotional reaction. He wrote that the purple of the background was used to create a mood of “terror” and the yellow cloth was designed to be “unexpected”.
2. The statuesque figure of Tupapau looms menacingly in the background creating a sense of tension and unease.
   Tehamana’s open palms and and staring eyes effectively communicate the fear of a young girl at the moment she has awoken from a nightmare: REPETITION: SUBJECT MATTER
3. There is a warm exotic feeling created in this painting created by the rich tones in Teha’amana’s skin and the palette of saturated yellows, pinks and purples. REPETITION: VISUAL ELEMENT: COLOUR

Question 13

Style - What 3 styles to talk about?

Answer 13

1. Realistic style
2. Impressionist style
3. Synthesist style

Question 14

Style - What 3 things?

Answer 14

1. The subtle modelling of areas of light and dark and closely observed proportional accuracy create a strong sense of realism in the painting of Teha’mana.
2. The combination of an Impressionist approach to colour, areas of pattern and Symbolist subject matter are typical of Gauguin’s Neo-Impressionist style.
3. Gauguin described his style as “Synthetist” in which colour is ‘synthetised’ with the major idea or feeling of the subject. Here Gauguin uses purple and yellow predominantly to describe the sense of terror of the subject.

Question 15

Colour - What 2 things to talk about?

Answer 15

1. Communication
2. Rich tones

Question 16

Colour - 2 things

Answer 16

1. Gauguin believed that colours should be used to communicate an emotional reaction. He wrote that the purple of the background was used to create a mood of “terror” and the yellow cloth was designed to be “unexpected”.
2. There is a warm exotic feeling created in this painting created by the rich tones in Teha’amana’s skin and the palette of saturated yellows, pinks and purples. REPETITION: MOOD & ATMOSPHERE

Question 17

Impact of social / cultural influences
What 5 things to talk about?

Answer 17

1. Manet’s Painting
2. Symbolist group in Paris
3. Imagined or spiritual world
4. Impressionist colour
5. Civilisation

Question 18

Impact of social / cultural influences

Answer 18

1. Gauguin was a vocal admirer of Manet’s iconic painting, Olympia. He took a photograph of the painting with him to Tahiti. This painting has strong compositional similarities with Olympia and is clearly Gauguin’s homage to it.
2. While in Paris, Gauguin allied himself with the Symbolist group who rejected pure realism for paintings which explore the mysterious and strange. This influence can clearly be seen in the supernatural subject matter of the painting.
3. Gauguin commonly juxtaposed the real world with the imagined or spiritual world as seen in paintings such as Vision After the Sermon. The real girl and the imagined spectre similarly co-exist in this painting, displaying Gauguin’s own approach to Symbolism.
4. Gauguin demonstrated the influence of Impressionist colour theory in this painting which is dominated by the complementary opposite colours of Purple and Yellow. These effectively create a painting that is both visually stimulating and harmonious. REPETITION: VISUAL ELEMENT: COLOUR
5. Gauguin famously wrote “Civilization makes you sick”. Non-western culture and spirituality was a recurring influence on Gauguin’s work as is the case in this painting, set in Tahiti and depicting a local superstition.