“Step into a vibrant tropical landscape bathed in dappled light. This early work by Paul Gauguin, painted in Martinique, offers a glimpse into his search for new forms and colors, foreshadowing his iconic Tahitian period.”
In "Martinican Meadow," lush, vibrant greens dominate the scene, creating a dense, almost claustrophobic sense of tropical growth. The painting captures a moment of intense sunlight, filtering through the foliage to dapple the ground in bright patches. Figures are subtly integrated into this rich landscape, their forms suggested rather than explicitly detailed, blending with the natural environment. This work was painted during a pivotal period for the artist in 1887, when he sought to immerse himself in non-Western cultures, moving beyond the Impressionist techniques he had previously explored. The bold, flattened colors and simplified forms here hint at the Synthetist style that would become a hallmark of his later, more famous Tahitian works, marking an early step in his quest for a more elemental and symbolic expression.
- Artist
- Paul Gauguin
- Date
- 1887
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Arche Noah – Sammlung Kunst & Natur
What to Notice
Four details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

The way sunlight breaks through the dense canopy, creating bright spots on the ground.
The figures almost hidden within the foliage, merging with the landscape.
The intense, almost unnatural greens and blues that define the tropical setting.
The flattened perspective and simplified forms, moving away from traditional realism.
Stand in front of it and listen
The full narration walks you through Martinican Meadow — the story behind it, the details most visitors miss, and why it matters. Free in the Art Whisper app.
Paul Gauguin
1848–1903 · FrancePaul Gauguin, the French Post-Impressionist, abandoned a stockbroker's life for art, famously seeking 'refuge from Western civilization' in Tahiti.
Further Works by Gauguin
The Seine at Pont de Grenelle
1875 · Wallraf–Richartz Museum
Still Life: Wood Tankard and Metal Pitcher
1880 · Art Institute of Chicago
The Little One Is Dreaming, Etude
1881 · Ordrupgaard
An Orchard under the Church of Bihorel
1884 · Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
Blue roofs of Rouen
1884 · Museum collection Am Römerholz
Evening Primroses in a Vase
1885
Fruit
1886
Stil life with white vase
1886 · Kunsthaus Zürich
More from Symbolism
More works to explore
Beyond Gauguin and Symbolism: works from the same years, and from the other movements Martinican Meadow belongs to.
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec · 1887 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
A Woman Walking in a Garden
Vincent van Gogh · 1887 · Frans Buffa & sons
Same movement · Impressionism
After the Bullfight
Mary Cassatt · 1873 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884
Okada Saburosuke · 1884 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Impressionism
A Turn in the Road
Alfred Sisley · 1873 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Madame Léon Clapisson
Léon-Victor Dupré · 1883 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Carmelina
Henri Matisse · 1903 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Paris Street; Rainy Day
Kawabata Gyokushō · 1877 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
The Old Guitarist
Pablo Picasso · 1903 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Still Life with Crayfish
Mikhail Larionov · 1900 · Museum Ludwig
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Gustave Boyer (b. 1840) in a Straw Hat
Paul Cézanne · 1870 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Albert (René) Grenier (1858–1925)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec · 1887 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same movement · Impressionism
The Pink Dress (Albertie-Marguerite Carré, later Madame Ferdinand-Henri Himmes, 1854–1935)
Berthe Morisot · 1870 · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Cows Drinking at a Pool
William Hart · 1886 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Same movement · Impressionism
The Beach at Sainte-Adresse
Claude Monet · 1867 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Madame Cézanne (Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in a Red Dress
Paul Cézanne · 1888 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same movement · Impressionism
The Banks of the Marne in Winter
Camille Pissarro · 1866 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île
Claude Monet · 1886 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Impressionism
Alfred Sisley
Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1864 · Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Forêt de Compiègne
Berthe Morisot · 1885 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Impressionism
Beggar with Oysters (Philosopher)
Édouard Manet · 1864 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Studies of Pierre Renoir; His Mother, Aline Charigot; Nudes; and Landscape
Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1885 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Impressionism
Young Spartan Girls Challenging Boys
Edgar Degas · 1860 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
The Sick Child
Edvard Munch · 1885 · National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design




