Faaturuma (detail) Melancholic

Gauguin\u27s title, Faaturuma, is inscribed on the frame of the unidentified landscape painting which hangs on the back wall of the room (surely one of the artist\u27s own works). The Museum\u27s picture evokes a mood of quiet detachment or melancholia and suggests something other than straightforward portraiture. The arabesque forms of the dress and rocking chair seem to accentuate the sitter\u27s isolation, while the simple color scheme based on the primary colors of red, yellow and blue further contribute to the monumental character of the figure. The general composition seems to have been inspired by Corot\u27s La Lettre (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), a photograph of which is known to have been among Gauguin\u27s possessions in Tahiti.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/saskia/4129/thumbnail.jp