Between 1888 and 1890, Paul Sérusier made several trips to the small city Pont-Aven, in Brittany, to apprentice with Paul Gauguin. At that time, Gauguin had abandoned the faithful representation of nature in favor of an experimental practice whereby colors could be used expressively and become tantamount to immediate sensations. Sérusier’s The Three-Pond Cottage at Le Pouldu was one of a small number of landscapes that resulted from this tutelage. The overall effect of this ambitious composition was the total sublimation of the outward appearance of the painter’s surroundings into a landscape inhabited by spiritual presence, a mystical vision rendered onto the canvas with a bold harmonization of color and form. Dr. Sylvain Cordier discusses the realization and importance of this masterpiece of Post-Impressionist painting that was recently acquired by VMFA.
The Three-Pond Cottage at Le Pouldu, 1889, Paul Sérusier (French, 1864–1927), oil on canvas. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon