Gauguin's Sculpture: Eve as Archetype of Tahitian Matriarchal Consciousness

Background: The work of Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), a French artist of Peruvian descent, is understood of great art historical significance due to its avant-garde use of symbolism. Though primarily a painter, Gauguin also produced numerous sculptures in a proto-surrealistic, experimental fashion, from what can be understood as an anthropological perspective. Myth and ancient life are common themes in Gauguin’s works. His sculpture, Eve (1890) is an example of a highly symbolic work—perhaps exploring matriarchal consciousness. Gauguin spent his final years in the Polynesian islands, mainly Tahiti, where he became engrossed in the study of his experience with the culture. Though some scholars have criticized Gauguin’s approach to Tahitian themes as the product of colonialist fantasy, he may have in fact been exploring matriarchal themes through what Jungian analysis deems the “social unconscious”. Aims: The current study intended to clarify the thematic scope of Gauguin’s Tahitian work, as one exploring themes of matriarchal consciousness. Method: Three master paintings and two sculptures were visually analyzed following Jungian Synthetic Method, emphasizing the analysis of opposites and the presence of the Divine Feminine, represented in Jungian archetypes as “The Moon”. Findings: Results from the Jungian analysis of Gauguin’s Tahitian works point to a significant prevalence of implied Moon shapes and symbolic allusions in key works like “Day of the God” and “Two Women”, while works like “The Moon and The Earth” specifically depict scenes with archetypal feminine (Hina, The Moon Goddess) and masculine characters (Fatou, The Earth God). Because Eve (1890), a rendition of the Biblical figure with Tahitian features, precedes these works, perhaps she symbolically marks the beginning of Gauguin’s exploration of matriarchal consciousness. Conclusion: Jungian Synthetic Method successfully identified matriarchal themes in Gauguin’s Tahitian works, reshaping understandings of Gauguin’s Tahitian artworks as feminist and pre-colonial in nature.