“Looking at Gauguin’s Christs, they are human, they are of this world.” (Emile Bernard qtd in Thomson, 116)
After “Vision After the Sermon” Gauguin continued to paint a number of works with obvious Christian imagery. These works include “Green Christ of the Breton Cavalry” (1889) and “Christ in the Garden of Olives.” (1889) Both of these pieces confront the viewer with blatant images of Christ and go even farther to equate these images with Gauguin himself. Although never a Christian, as Denvir calls attention to Gauguin was, “profoundly aware of human suffering and was fascinated by the simple faith of the Bretons.” (Denvir, 53) This “fascination” was clearly a powerful force in Gauguin’s life, eventually leading him to identify with Christ.
”The Green Christ of the Breton Cavalry,” (1889)
This painting was completed at the same time as “Yellow Christ” and is similar to it many ways. (Denvir, 53) Like “Yellow Christ,” “The Green Christ” combines intensely religious subject matter with local Breton landscapes painted in vivid, otherworldly colors. This combination gives the painting a powerful sense of evocation, making the stone cavalry appear as lifelike as the Breton woman grieving before it. Gauguin himself points this out, saying, “My aim is to imbue these disconsolate figures with the wildness I see in them, and which is also in me.” (Gauguin qtd in Le Pinchon, 120) This quote, however, reveals something more than simply Gauguin’s desire to use religion to evoke the “primitive” and symbolic. By saying, “which is also in me,” Gauguin identifies himself with these religious images, subtly connecting himself with Christianity and more specifically with Christ. (Le Pinchon, 120)
“Christ in the Garden of Olives,” (1889)
In this painting, completed in 1889, Gauguin takes this identification with Christ to another level. As Thomson mentions, in this work the face of Christ is actually, despite the red hair, a self-portrait of Gauguin. (Thomson, 114) This direct association with Christ spreads beyond Gauguin’s paintings into his letters and thoughts at the time as he, according to Thomson, “frequently compared his own trials with those of Christ.” (Thomson, 114) This comparison was not well received either by the French public or by Gauguin’s close friend Vincent Van Gogh. (Le Pinchon, 120) Although eventually toning down his direct association with Christ, Gauguin continued to infuse Christian imagery and meaning into his paintings throughout his life.