The Canoe is the largest canvas by Gauguin represented in the Hermitage collection, and the concept behind the picture was a very important one for the painter. There is a small version of the picture that represents a single figure and is called Poor Fisherman (1896, Art Museum, Sao Paolo; Wildenstein, Gauguin, no. 545). The colors of the smaller canvas are not as accomplished as those in The Canoe in spite of the fact that the Hermitage canvas has deteriorated over time. A reference to the painting in a letter by the artist, quoted by Wildenstein in the catalogue raisonne of Gauguin's paintings, is thought to refer to the Poor Fisherman and can be attributed to The Canoe as well. ("On December 9, a group of 9 canvases was sent to the art dealer Vollard. Here are their names: . . . Sea landscape with a fisherman drinking near his boat. . . .")

The Tahitian name of the picture Te Vaa can be translated as "canoe." The idea was borrowed from the Poor Fisherman by Puvis de Chavannes (1881, D'Orsay Museum, Paris, a sketch of which is in the Pushkin Museum), a very popular painting of the time3ƒ4one highly valued by Gauguin. The principal figure of The Canoe is reminiscent of figures depicted in ancient Egyptian art; his pose is directly related to those of figures found on the stones of Egyptian burials.

While Gauguin follows P uvis de Chavannes in depicting a family, his manner in treating the subject is quite different. Puvis' figures are divided by space. Gauguin shows them close to each other and dynamically interrelated, so much so that the figure of the Tahitian woman may be considered as having been painted "incorrectly"3ƒ4the size of the figure contradicts accurate perspective. This contradiction may be partly explained by the painter's desire to construct the composition on the crossing diagonal lines of the boat and of the woman's body.

The upper part of the painting is crowned with a mountain whose mysterious profile plays the dual role of a characteristic feature of Tahitian landscape while uniting the two main figures. At the same time, the mountain acts as a symbol. In both Eastern and Western religions, a mountain is a symbol of spiritual activity and meditation. The contrast between the golden color of the ocean sunset and the intense blues of the painting determines the color structure of The Canoe. In some Russian catalogues and probably in M.A. Morozovs collection, the painting was called Tahitian Family.

Inscribed, signed, and dated, bottom left: TE VAA R Gauguin 96

Hermitage Museum, inv. no. 9122

Provenance:

M. Morozov collection, Moscow;

1903, Mrs. Morozovs collection, Moscow;

1910, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (gift of Morozovs widow);

1925, Museum of Modern Western Art, Moscow;

since 1948, Hermitage, Leningrad.