The Meaning of Vision After the Sermon: A Deep Dive into Gauguin’s Masterpiece
Paul Gauguin’s Vision After the Sermon (1888) is a striking and enigmatic painting that marks a turning point in the artist’s career. As one of his most famous works, it embodies his break from Impressionism and his move towards Symbolism and Post-Impressionism. This article explores the meaning behind Vision After the Sermon, the motivations behind its creation, its symbolism, the techniques used, and its current location.
The Meaning of Vision After the Sermon
Vision After the Sermon (also known as Jacob Wrestling with the Angel) is a highly symbolic and spiritual painting that conveys a scene of religious fervor and transcendence. The artwork depicts a group of Breton women in traditional attire who have just attended a sermon. The women, immersed in their faith, experience a collective vision of Jacob wrestling with an angel, an event described in the Book of Genesis.
Unlike conventional religious paintings that depict biblical events as historical realities, Gauguin presents the vision as a subjective and psychological experience. The scene blurs the line between the real and the imaginary, reinforcing the power of faith and the human ability to visualize religious narratives in a deeply personal way.
The painting captures the moment when the believers’ intense faith transforms their perception of reality, allowing them to witness a divine struggle. Through this, Gauguin emphasizes the power of spiritual experience, making the invisible visible and showcasing the mystical nature of faith.
Why Did Gauguin Paint Vision After the Sermon?
Gauguin painted Vision After the Sermon during his time in Pont-Aven, a small village in Brittany, France. The artist was drawn to the simplicity, piety, and traditions of the Breton people. He sought to move away from Western artistic conventions and instead explore more primitive and spiritual themes.
His inspiration came from the devout Catholic practices of the Breton people, whom he saw as uncorrupted by modern civilization. Their strong faith, communal spirit, and folkloric traditions fascinated him, and he wanted to capture this spirituality in his art.
Gauguin was also influenced by Japanese prints, particularly in the way he structured space and used flat, bold colors. This departure from Western perspective and shading marked his rejection of academic realism and his desire to create a more expressive and symbolic form of art.
What Does Vision After the Sermon Symbolize?
The painting is rich in symbolism, which can be interpreted in multiple ways:
1. The Spiritual Experience
The division of the canvas into two sections, one occupied by the praying women and the other by the vision, highlights the contrast between reality and spiritual transcendence. The women are grounded in the earthly realm, while the biblical struggle takes place in a dreamlike, ethereal space.
2. Jacob Wrestling with the Angel
The central vision of Jacob wrestling with the angel is a biblical metaphor for faith, struggle, and divine intervention. It represents the human soul’s battle with doubt, temptation, and the quest for salvation. This struggle is a personal and universal experience, reflecting Gauguin’s own spiritual and artistic struggles.
3. The Bold Use of Color
The dominant use of red in the background symbolizes both divine power and a mystical atmosphere. The red field does not depict a realistic setting but rather an emotional and spiritual intensity. This use of color breaks away from traditional Western landscape painting and aligns with Gauguin’s Symbolist approach, where colors are used to express emotion rather than depict naturalistic light and shadow.
4. The Influence of Japanese Prints
The flattening of space, strong outlines, and asymmetrical composition are reminiscent of Japanese woodblock prints, which Gauguin admired. The tree trunk cutting across the composition acts as a visual separator between the real world and the supernatural vision, reinforcing the idea that this is not a literal scene but a spiritual revelation.
5. The Role of Breton Women
The inclusion of the devout Breton women emphasizes the communal nature of faith. Their bowed heads and clasped hands indicate deep concentration and collective belief, showing how religious experience is both individual and shared.
What Techniques Are Used in Vision After the Sermon?
Gauguin’s Vision After the Sermon showcases several innovative artistic techniques that set it apart from traditional Western paintings:
1. Cloisonnism
One of the most striking aspects of the painting is its use of Cloisonnism, a technique inspired by stained glass and Japanese prints. Gauguin employs bold, flat areas of color outlined with thick black contours, reminiscent of medieval enamelwork. This technique eliminates depth and realism, creating a decorative and expressive effect.
2. Symbolist Use of Color
Rather than using color to depict natural light, Gauguin uses it symbolically. The deep red background, the dark blue and green tones, and the contrasting white of the women’s coifs (head coverings) all serve to evoke emotion rather than realism.
3. Flattened Perspective
Gauguin abandons linear perspective and traditional depth, opting instead for a two-dimensional space where the spiritual and the real coexist on the same plane. This technique was heavily influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e prints, which emphasized composition over realism.
4. Diagonal Composition
The dynamic arrangement of figures and the diagonal division of the canvas guide the viewer’s eye through the scene, reinforcing the intensity of the religious experience. The tree trunk that cuts through the middle creates a strong compositional barrier between the women and the vision, further emphasizing the supernatural nature of the event.
5. Emphasis on Emotion Over Detail
Unlike the Impressionists, who focused on capturing fleeting moments of light and movement, Gauguin prioritized emotional impact. The simplified forms, exaggerated colors, and dreamlike quality of the painting are designed to evoke a sense of mysticism and devotion.
Where is Vision After the Sermon Located?
Today, Vision After the Sermon is housed in the National Galleries of Scotland, located in Edinburgh. It is part of the collection at the Scottish National Gallery, where it remains one of the most significant pieces of 19th-century art.
The painting has been widely studied and admired for its groundbreaking approach to composition, color, and spiritual symbolism. Visitors to the gallery can view it as a testament to Gauguin’s revolutionary artistic vision and his quest for a deeper, more symbolic form of expression.
Paul Gauguin’s Vision After the Sermon is a masterpiece that transcends traditional artistic norms. Through bold color choices, flattened perspective, and rich symbolism, the painting captures the intensity of religious faith and the power of spiritual vision. Inspired by Breton culture, Japanese prints, and his desire to break away from Impressionism, Gauguin created an artwork that remains a cornerstone of Symbolist and Post-Impressionist art. Today, it continues to captivate audiences in Edinburgh, offering a window into the artist’s complex and mystical world. image/wikipedia
