The Ford (The Flight)

The painting The Ford was created two years before Gauguin’s death. Its atmosphere is full of tragic notes. Disillusioned with the beauty of the native paradise that was already “spoiled” by civilization, the artist increasingly addresses the problem of Tahitian people leaving their lands, the disturbing motif of escape. The strange figure riding the white horse in front and wearing a blue pÄreu and a pink headdress might be the symbolic image of death. A naked Tahitian man on a horse follows her; his outstretched arm offers a piece of meat to a bird of prey with a curved beak, resembling a vulture. The fording point that they have to cross is the mythological Styx that separates life and death. As in many of Gauguin’s works, images with a symbolic meaning are displayed in front of an idyllic landscape: sinister horsemen ride along a beautiful ocean lagoon with waves rolling onto shore.

1901

Oil on canvas

76.0 x 95.0cm

3270