Paul GauguinFrench, 1848–1903Earthly Paradise
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Earthly Paradise” now? Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 247, Chicago. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
Closed· opens tomorrow at 11:00 AM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
Combining painting, sculpture, and carpentry, this unique object was created collaboratively by Paul Gauguin and his younger contemporary Émile Bernard. Their artistic experiments, often undertaken in the spirit of friendly competition, challenged hierarchical distinctions between fine art, grounded in aesthetics, and decorative art, associated with functionality. Bernard carved the left panel and possibly the bottom panel. Both artists incorporated animals, trees, and people from village life in Brittany, France, motifs they also used in their paintings. The figures on the right panel were inspired by Gauguin’s trip the previous year to the Caribbean island of Martinique. This visit informed his later decision to leave France, which ultimately led him to Tahiti.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 2007.247
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.
