An artistic medium is the substance or material on which or from which the artistic work is made. Originally meant “those who live at red earth hole” and was once the name of a village in southern Potter Valley near the present-day community of Pomo. It may have referred to local deposits of the red mineral magnesite, used for red beads, or to the reddish earth and clay such as hematite mined in the area.
Therefore, in 1913, he created this famous shape artwork, a study of the interplay of various shapes and colors. ArtistPaul Gauguin (1848 – 1903)Date Completed1891MediumOil on canvasDimensions 113 x 87LocationThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United StatesThis artwork was painted by Paul Gauguin on his first trip to Tahiti in 1891. It depicts an indigenous Tahitian mother and her child, both of whom are represented by utilizing the organic shapes that were characteristic of Gauguin’s aesthetic and style. He was well-known for using organic shapes in his paintings to convey a sense of the natural world and primitive sensuality.
