Artwork Information

Better known for his prints capturing France’s la belle époque (beautiful era) in this rare gouache Edgar Chahine has created a poignant and evocative portrait, although one that sets up as many questions as answers. It has been suggested that this might be a ‘portrait’ of Paul Gauguin – there are a number of facial similarities, and Chahine knew the Nabis well – yet Gauguin did not go to Tahiti until later in life. Chahine’s Parisian studio was destroyed in 1942, which means we may never know the answer to these queries.