Paul GauguinFrench, 1848–1903Arlésiennes (Mistral)
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Arlésiennes (Mistral)” now? Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 241, Chicago. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
Open now· until 5:00 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
One of seventeen canvases that Paul Gauguin completed during a brief and tumultuous visit with Vincent van Gogh in Arles, this powerful and enigmatic painting depicts the public garden directly across from Van Gogh’s residence, the “Yellow House.” Not only is the careful planning of the composition in marked contrast to the spontaneity seen in Van Gogh’s depiction of the same scene (State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg), but everything about the painting—its large, flat areas of color; arbitrary handling of space; and enigmatic silhouettes—also exemplifies the deliberateness with which Gauguin sought pictorial harmony and symbolic content in his work. Here four women wrapped in shawls slowly stroll through the garden. The two closest to the viewer avert their gazes and curiously cover their mouths.
Read on
Their somber outlines echo the two orange cones, which probably represent shrubs wrapped against the frost. The bench along the upper-left path rises steeply, defying logical perspective. Equally puzzling is the mysterious bush on the left, in which Gauguin consciously embedded forms that suggest eyes and a nose, creating the impression of a strange, watchful presence. With its aura of repressed emotion and elusive meaning, Arlésiennes (Mistral) explores the ambiguities, mysteries, and emotions that Gauguin believed underlie appearances.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1934.391
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
In the life of Paul Gauguin
The whole life1870s–1891 · Workplace
Paris
summer 1886
First Summer in Pont-Aven, Meeting Laval
Gauguin spent the summer of 1886 in the artists' colony of Pont-Aven in Brittany, drawn there by the cheapness of life; he enjoyed unexpected success among the young artists and met Charles Laval, his future companion on the journey to Panama and Martinique.
May 1886
Eighth (Last) Impressionist Exhibition
In May 1886 Gauguin showed 19 paintings and a wooden relief at the eighth and last Impressionist exhibition; that same year he broke decisively with Pissarro, rejecting Seurat's pointillism.
1886–1891 · Workplace
Pont-Aven
1887 · Workplace
Martinique
October – December 1888
Nine Weeks with Van Gogh in Arles
In 1888, at Theo's insistence, Gauguin worked for nine weeks with Vincent van Gogh in his Yellow House in Arles. Their relationship deteriorated: on the evening of 23 December 1888, according to Gauguin's later account, Vincent came at him with a razor and then cut off his own ear; Gauguin left Arles, and they never saw each other again.
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