Harvest: Le Pouldu

In the summer of 1890 Gauguin was staying at Le Pouldu, a small resort on the coast of Brittany, and he seems to have climbed the high ground above the beach to paint this. The headland in the middle marks the western end of the beach, with sailing boats out in the bay and, on the horizon, either the far shore or the island of Groix. He reduced the cut corn, fields, cliffs and stone walls to blocks of yellow, green and purple, the kind of simplification that looked radical at the time. The harvesters bend double over their work. What holds the eye is a bright red dog with its head turned back over its shoulder, standing guard beside a discarded cape. The canvas belongs to Tate and hangs here on loan.