by Paul Gauguin, 1888
Circa 1888, Paul Gauguin created this pioneering work in Pont-Aven, Brittany, marking his decisive break from Impressionism. The painting shows Breton women in traditional headdresses witnessing Jacob wrestling with an angel, the vision occurring after hearing a sermon on the biblical story. A diagonal tree branch dramatically separates the praying figures from the supernatural scene.
The bold red background was radical, abandoning naturalistic color for emotional expression. Gauguin flattened perspective and outlined forms with dark lines, techniques borrowed from Japanese prints and medieval stained glass. This approach influenced the Symbolist movement and later expressionists who sought meaning beyond visual reality.
The painting hangs at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, where it arrived after Gauguin tried and failed to donate it to a local Breton church.
Other masterpieces from the Post-Impressionism movement

Vincent van Gogh, 1890
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Vincent van Gogh, 1888
National Gallery, London

Vincent van Gogh, 1889
Getty Center, Los Angeles

Vincent van Gogh, 1889
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York

Vincent van Gogh, 1888
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Vincent van Gogh, 1889
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Vincent van Gogh, 1890
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Vincent van Gogh, 1888
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven
Luxury wall art with the same mood and energy. Gallery-quality canvas, no museum crowds.
Browse Collection