Although Gauguin is the most prominent painter to work in Brittany, he is certainly not the only artist who produced work in the area. Contemporary with Gauguin’s revolutionary advances in the field of Symbolism, as Boyle-Turner points out, there were a number of painters working in the region who continued to paint in the accepted academic tradition. (Boyle-Turner, 1) One of these painters was Frenchman Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret who traveled first to Brittany in 1885 and remained there to paint naturalistic works that were well received back in France. (Weiseberg, 1) Among his works two in particular stand out: “The Pardon in Brittany” (1886), and “Breton Women at a Pardon” (1887). These two pieces depict local religious customs and are occupied with people in traditional Breton costumes, closely connecting their subject matter with that of Gauguin’s Brittany paintings.
We can see this similarity clearly by comparing Dagnan-Bouveret’s “The Pardon in Brittany” with Gauguin’s “Vision After the Sermon” (1888) and “Breton Women at a Pardon” with “Four Breton Women” (1886). Despite the similar subject matter of the pieces, the appearance of the Gauguin’s and Dagnan-Bouveret’s paintings differ greatly, leading Gauguin’s works to be seen as radical and Dagnan-Bouveret’s two paintings to be accepted into Paris Salons of 1887 and 1889 respectively. (Perry, 12) As art historian Gill Perry calls attention to, Dagnan-Bouveret’s paintings were characterized by “naturalistic style and anecdotal detail” while Gauguin’s painting had a “schematic decorative style” that “generated a good deal of controversy.” (Perry, 12, 15) Because of the similar subject matter of the two artists’ works it becomes clear that this “controversy” stemmed less from the subjects being portrayed than from the different ways in which Gauguin and Dagnan-Bouveret chose to portray them. While Dagan-Bouveret’s paintings maintain the solid figures and somber tones of actuality, Gauguin’s subjects are depicted in stylized forms and bold, startling colors. Through these means Gauguin moves his subjects beyond the bounds of the tangible world and into the realm of evocation, suggestion and Symbolism. By comparing Gauguin to Dagnan-Bouveret it becomes increasingly clear that while Gauguin still painted the traditional subject matter of the past, during his time in Brittany he began to see this subject matter with the modern eyes of the future.
Dagnan-Bouveret's "The Pardon in Brittany" (1886) vs Gauguin's "Vision After the Sermon" (1888)
Dagnan-Bouveret's "Breton Women at a Pardon" (1887) vs Gauguin's "Four Breton Women" (1886)
