“Van Gogh's Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered,” Ideal Places East and West, International Research Center for Japanese Studies, March 31,1997, pp.153-177.

Van Gogh's Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti Tahiti reconsidered

Shigemi Shigemi INAGA

Mie U University niversity

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM NO.l0

International International Research Center for Japanese]apanese Studies Idealld e al Places in HistoryHisto η - East and West - 1995 : 153-178153 -178 “Van Gogh's Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered,” Ideal Places East and West, International Research Center for Japanese Studies, March 31,1997, pp.153-177.

Van Gogh's Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti Tahiti reconsidered

Shigemi INAGA

Mie University

If If the mountain paradise represents one type of ideal place place,， the other can be categorized categorized as the island paradise. Both in the East and in the WestWest, ， it has been a common gardening practice to create an isle in the middle of a lake or a pond of a garden. garden. In JJapanese apanese the word island (“ (" shima") was literally a metonymical substitute for for the “"garden".garden". A small and isolated “"tops" tops" surrounded by water is a miniatur- miniatur­ ized ized version version,， or a regressive formform,， of the desire for marvelous possessions possessions,， to use Stephen Stephen Greenblatt's expression expression,， which prompted people to venture into the ocean in in search of hidden paradise. From the Greek Hesperides down to William Buttler Yeat's Yeat's Innisj Innisfree同e (or rather downdownto .to its parody as “"LakeLake Isles" in the “"Whispering Whispering Glades" Glades" by Evelyn Waugh in The Loved One [1948]),[1 948]) ， the imagery of islands is abun-abun­ dant dant in Western literature. As the the roccoco “"EmbarquementEmbarquement pour CythCythere"とre" by Wat-Wat­ teau teau or J .-J. Rousseau's solitary meditations at the Il Ilee St. Pierre Pierre,， or the tropical beauty beauty of Paul et Virginie (1 (1787) 787) depicted by Bernardin de de St.Pierre St.Pierre,， the island paradise paradise constitutes in itself a vast topic which defies any easy attempt at global overview!.overview1• With this huge background in mindmind,， 1I restrict my topic in this paper to the the case-study of Van Gogh's Japan and Paul Gauguin's Tahiti revisited. In the vi- vi­ sions sions of these two painters painters,， 1 I shall to try to analyse how the topography of utopia in the the Pacific Ocean overlaps the pathography of the European civilization at thefin the./in du siecle. siecle.

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Van Gogh's Japan represents the utopia of an ideal community of artists maintained by their mutual emulation and brotherhood brotherhood,， free from any mischievous conspiracy. As he wrote to 豆Emilemile Bernard: “"Since Since long 1I have thought it touching that the Japanese Japanese artists used to exchange works among themselves very often. It certainly proves proves that they liked and upheld each other,other ， and that there reigned a certain har- har­ mony among them; and that they were really living in some sort of fraternal com-com­ munitymunity,， quite naturally naturally,， and not in intrigues"2.

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The supposed exchange of works which Van Gogh beleives JapaneseJ apanese artists practiced remains a mystery mystery among specialists. According to my personal hypothesis,hypothesis ， Van GoghOogh must have seen some example of surimono prints put together and bound as an album. album. One such album is kept intact today at the Cabinet Cabinet des estampes in the BibliothequeBiblioth とque nationale in Paris. Paris. This album,album ， composed in three volumes by a Kyoka satirical poet Nagashima Masahide in token of his his collaboration with other poets poets,， contains rare surimono print illustrations by such famous artists like like Santo KyodenKyoden,， HokusaiHokusai, ， Shunman,Shunman ， Kiyonaga and Utamaro. Van Gogh might have seen this while he was in Paris Paris,， because this album belonged to the former former collection of Theodore Duret [fiig.[且 ig. 1],1] ， who is supposed supposed to have had his collection deposited with the Brothers Brothers GoupilGoupil,， where Theo van Gogh was working Fig. 1. James McNeill Whistler Whistler,， Arrangement as as the director of their Montmartre branch3• One in in Flesh Colour and glimpse glimpse would have been enough for Van Gogh to be Black Black, ， Portrait 01of TheoTheo­・ convinced convinced of the practice of exchange by the dore Duret Duret,， 183-84,183-84 ， Oil onCon Canvas,組 V 民 193.4193 .4 x 90.8 Cffi， em, Japanese ， as many prints of different size from several Japanese, as many prints of different size from several New YYork, ork ， The Metro- Metro­ artists artists were assembled togather on the face of the politan Museum of Art. folder folder composed of 8 panels each [fig. 22,， 3]. Van Gogh expresses his desire to realize realize such an album: “"DesDes albums de six ou dix ou douze [dessins [des sins a la plume]plume],， comme les albums de dessins dessins originaux japonais./ J'ai J'ai grand envie de faire un tel tel pour GauguinGauguin,， et un pour Bernard"4 [fig. 4]. Inspired Inspired by this im- im­ agined agined habitual exchange of work between Japanese ar- ar­ tists tists,， Van Gogh fostered the Fig.2. Fig. 2. The surimono album composed by Nagashima idea idea of “"Gemeinschafts­Gemeinschafts- Masahide Masahide, ， ca. 1797-1812. Former collection ofTheoof Theo­・ dore dore Duret Duret,， donnated to the Biblioth Bibliothequeとque naionale in ideal" ideal" (to use N. Pevsner's ideal" (to use N. Pevsner's Paris in 1900. Tome 1. I. Paris Paris,， Biblioth Bibliotheque とque nationale nationale,， terminology)5 terminology)5,， and dreamed cote: Od.17 Od.171. 1.

154 154 Van Gogh's Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered

of realizing an artists' community at the Yellow House [Maison jaune] in Arles with with his collegues like 亘Emilemile Bernard and Paul Gauguin. The following phrase in his his letter to BernardBernard,， mentioned aboveabove,， must be understood at its face value: “"TheThe more we are like them in this respect respect,， (i. (i.e. e. in in “"livingliving in a sort of fraternal communi-communi­ ty ty,， quite naturally naturally,， and not in intrigue") intrigue"),， the the better it will be for US"6. This was a counterproposal counterproposal to Bernard's idea of establishing establishing a kind of “"freemason" freemason" (sic.) type type community of painters. “"TheThe more we discuss on the matter matter,， the worse the result result iS"7. is" 7 •

Fig. Fig. 3. Katsushika HokusaiHokusai,， Surimono Surimono of calender depicting a 2 poster for a kabuki theater theater,， 19.6 19.6 x 13.7 cmcm,， the unique piece to be When Van Gogh was writing this letter letter,， knownknown,， found in the Duret album idealizing idealizing the J apanese artist as one who mentioned mentioned above above, ， Fig. 2). idealizing the Japanese artist as one who made drawings like a “"simple simple worker" ，, he was looking at the first issues of Le Japon αartistique,rtistique ， recently published by S. Bing: “J'"J'ai ai la reproduction (publication Bing) {~Un seul brin d'herbe} d'herbe ~ [fig. 5]. Quel exem-exem­ ple ple pIe de conscience! Tu le Ie verras un jour" (B. 18). The same anecdote is also reported to to TheoTheo,， where Vincent develops his philosophy a la fa japonjaponaise:αおe:

勺fht +tJitL骨組J.mvd ， ihmm川hωesmM 州時制矧山山li--J:ωe?bdrptm・明 司 va戸 sdM UH'H apuha1nwehE児 apf!1 t wto戸し曹・川は'割・記 add1.m.pnnn創 twEvvh mMmumuo?ud u m yωNh可はun "Ifa weLV study Japanese art,- '出we see a man who is undoubtedly wise,， heh -k 州卯・田叩由一 凶・ pb C324r申 引 珂 OF3FL n' cdunmg eu σoσb skm旬、mEhρLVρLWPTA-Q philosophic、戸し andUρiv intelligent' who spends his time doing what? In studying the distance 川 n k M te: ゆ 唄 N Y-A ・1sgBhtvthhtωe-modedfod betweenW the earth and the moon?・ No. In studying Bismarck's politics? No. He aMMmwf.merktgsajn studies a single blade of 間 もおい grass (un seul brin d'herbe).ヅ UEnw・凶 Mwmω匂 沼紅印duaeh But this blade of grass leads凶曹司叫 ・mK d 抑制η 凶 him to draw every plantMhteeo and 屯 肌悶 ewnpφt then every season,持出 the great ・問 Mdmm oa'hehー views of the countryside,， 巾 hm-mt沼 mm 1-0 ρLvqu+L' then animals,'53 then the nuL匂 ぺ川町h human figure. So he passes 白川 mw引'凶・ 旬 引 叩汀 Fig. Fig. 4. Vincent Van GoghGogh,， Album of drawings con- con­ his life, and life isme too short ceived ceived by Vincent Van Gogh. Sketch in letter 492,492 ， K o e mN AmAmsterdam,sterdam ， Rijksmuseum Vincent Van Gogh. to do以 the whole. Come now,，

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isn't isn't it almost a true religion which these sim- sim­ ple ple Japanese teach us us,， who live in nature '-as though they themselves were flowers? flowers?"8吋 [fig. 6]. 6].

Dr. Dr. Tsukasa Kodera and 1I have already already indicated the source of this passage 9 and demonstrated that it was a re-interpreta- re-interpreta­ tion tion of S. Bing's “"programme"programme" in the first issue issue of Le ~ψJaponon artisitque where Bing writes writes that according to aJ Japanese,apanese ，“ "therethere is is nothing in creation creation,， not even the smallest blade blade of grass grass,， which does not deserve a - place in the elevated conceptions of art" (“ ("ilil n'existe n'existe rien dans la creation creation, ， fut-ce ffit-ce un in- in­ fime fime brin d'herbe d 'herbe,， qui ne soit digne de Fig. Fig. 5. anonym. Sketch 0/ “un brin Fig. 5. anonym. Sketch of "un brin trouver la place dans les conceptions elevees d'herbe d'herbe",ヘ which Figures in the first trouver la place dans les conceptions elevees tome tome of Samuel Bing (ed (ed.),ふ LeJaponLe Japon de l' l'art"lO.art" lO. artistique ，Tome 1，N r. 1，May 1888. artistique, Tome I, Nr. 1, May 1888. The lesson Van Gogh got from this “"Japanese"J apanese" philospophy must also be read at at face value value,， for he is literally saying that by studying JJapanese apanese art art,， people should become much gayer and happier. Here is a magical magical statemen statement. t. By his act of drawing and painting like aJ Japanese,apanese ， he believed he would become much happier happierll.l1 . By his work he believed he would be able to carry this JJapanese apanese philosophy into eeffect;宜ect; his handl- handl­ ing ing of the brush and pigment literally real- real­ izing izing on the canvas his JJapanapan as ideal paradise. paradise. if “"ifif the weather were always as beautiful beautiful as it is is, ， it would be be better1t er than the paradise paradise of artists artists,， it would be fully in Japan"12. Japan"12. By this time Vincent was experien- experien­ Fig. Fig. 6. Vincent Van GoghGogh,， Study 0/ofa Sprig Sprig 0/ of Periwinkle Periwinkle,， Black chark chark,， cing an almost euphorical and hallucinatory pen pen and ink ink,， washed on paper paper,， sense of identification with the surrounding 47.5 47.5 x 40 cmcm,， [May/June 1890],1890 ]， AmAmsterdam,sterdam ， Vincent Van Gogh Fon- Fon­ nature of ArArIes:les: “"FromFrom time to time 1I have a dation. dation. terrible lucidity lucidity,， when the nature is so

156 156 Van Gogh's Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered beautiful beautiful these days and I1 no longer longer feel myself and the painting painting comes by itself to me like in a dream" 13. And this this was why Vincent,Vincent ， in the following following passage,passage ， so earnest­earnest- ly ly insisted on his brother and collegues collegues coming to ArIes,Arles ， as if if it were the only remedy for getting getting rid of the sickness of civilization civilization 1414. . In In Vincent's mindmind,， the the ArArlesian lesian community of Fig. 7. Vincent Van Gogh,Gogh ， La Crau,Crau ， jardins de artists artists was the exact Maraichers Marafchers,， Oil on Canvas,Canvas ， 72.5 x 92 cm,cm ， June 1888,1888 ， Amsterdam,Am sterdam ， Rijksmuseum Vincent Van Gogh. transposition transposition of the dreamed Japan as u-topia. Hence the repetitive repetitive declaration:declaration :“ "HereHere in Arles ArIes,， I1 am in Japan"15 [fig. 7].

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This This imaginary identification leads him to disguise himself into aJ Japanese apanese buddhist monk in the famous {Autoportrait {Autoportrait en bonze}bonze~ [fig. 88],]， which was destined for exchange with Gauguin's Gauguin's Gauguin;s self-portrait [fig. 9]. Here Vincent Vincent at first aimed at depicting “"the the character character of the simple monk [“ ["bonze"] bonze"] admiring admiring the eternal BuddhaBuddha,， and exag- exag­ gerated gerated his personality by rendering the the eyes oblique in a Japanese fashion fashion 16 l6，, as if incarnating that image of of the JJapanese apanese philosopher philosopher,， con- con­ templating templating a single blade of grass. Further Further,， even the model is con- con­ taminated taminated by this Japanization: J apanization: it is a well well known fact that {La MousoumeMousoume7; 7; Fig. 8. Vincent vam GoghGogh, ， Autoportrait comme BonzeBonze,， Oil on canvas canvas,， 62 x 52 cmcm,， [fig. [fig. 10] was named after the Japanese 1888 1888,， Cambridge Cambridge,， Massachusetts Massachusetts,， Fogg word for a young girl girl,， which Vincent ArArtt Museum.

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kmVeb凶nnySotodeMζ~， M・-訂・mwMωnsuωehdULHSELet-ue10m'rσnxOSEE-EXrreppda!JMOM8uai;dttpぬ found in Pierre Loti's Mada­---ne-hn-ea ei 初制山・時 neJhgη0 me Chrysantheme (1887). 印刷出即日 Vincentい adds pseudo­ 出 m mvaMmmk-mgU・m ethymological . explanation ymomn旬間比国 剖 出 by saying after Loti that the “ ":m"出・ mC "moue" has the same con­ n fHconoι1沼 notation as the French “ 九 伺 mcmmd“ωmmmmmm."'mMfed-I-mLd・ "moue", meaning "pout" in ECJnb.ub-um't English. By 1Ja curiousほ coin­ 同年 引制加代・旬 cidence, the June issue of Le 別川吋 向山崎crIl切戸凹泊凶 Japon artistique contained a 40yodnu 閃》 山口出 folded huge color reproduc­ OK 町 tion of {Usugumo ~ [fig. 11] ・冒且 仁川山口・ は “ F qvMmN9 ph ajg同一aonunαmvGmuv AJ 川 旬×一呉06吋 Mm -げ取μmE3 Fig. 9. Paul Gauguin, 'mAutoportraUtn dU "Les 舵れmkω.gwmA ，ゆ 5q M JU by . Kaigetsudo, with the mh trm い 」 VA Miserables" , Oil on Canvas,叩 45 x 56 cm,山 Amsterdam,・' 出 o ・u噌f m閣 九 刷 m G Rijksmuseum Vincent Van Gogh. mouth of the girl pouting!7. It It is said that this reproduc- reproduc­ tion tion was to be found on the wall of Vincent's room at the hospital in Saint Remy. ButBut,， as we all knowknow, ， this spell of magical identification with JJapanapan is ironical- ironical­ ly ly proved to be more illusory than real with Gauguin's arrival in ArArIes. les. Within only

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Fig. Fig. 11.1 1. Kaigetsudo Kaigetsudo,， Usugumo,Usugumo ， color reproduction reproduction from Le Japon artistique artistique,， Fig. Fig. 10. Vincent van GoghGogh, ， Portrait de June 1888,1888 ， Paris Paris, ， Biblioth Bibliotheque とque de la MousoumeMousoume,， Oil on Canvas Canvas,， 74 x 60 cmcm,， Maison du Japon Japon,， Cite internationale July July 1888,1888 ， Washington Washington, ， National Gallery. universitaire de Paris.

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dn Van Gogh's Japan Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered

two monthsmonths,， the dream of ideal community in Arles was doomed to disaster disaster,， when Vincent Vincent cut ooff:ff part of his left ear on December 2222, ， shortly before the Chrismas of 188818 •

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The { Portrait de Vincent au tournesol } [fig. 12] executed by Gauguin in ArArIes les represents represents the crisis of illusory identification between reality and painting. The crisis of of illusionism is directly connected with the mental crisis. Vincent in the painting is painting painting a canvas canvas,， the surface of which is hidden to the beholder beholder,， as the canvas is positioned positioned vertically to the pictorial plane. Curiously enough the brush he is handl- handl­ ing ing is not only touching on the invisible canvas but also pointing at the image of a sunflower sunflower at the same time. Is Vincent painting a canvas or a “"real"real" flower in the painting? painting? Suspended between this double register register,， the position of the brush is im-im­ possible possible to locate and this indeterminability is crystalized as such in this two-dimen-two-dimen­ sional sional picture plane. No one can say for sure what is really depicted on Vincent's painting painting in this portrait by GauguinGauguin. . It seals ooff:ff an enigma from our access l9• Due to this ambiguous double position of Vincent's brush brush,， the relation bet- bet­ ween reality and painting can be reversed. The sunflower can no longer be inter- inter­ preted preted as a usual stilllife. still life. Instead this flower is being created by Vincent's hand in the the painting painting,， as if the secret of the invisible canvas were transmitted to the “"real"real" 自flowerower created by painting. This work therefore can no longer be a simple copy of the the real three-dimensional world. It conceals a secret which can only be maintained by and in its two-dimen- sionality. sionality. From this initial secret secret on; the act of depic- depic­ tion tion represented in this pain- pain­ ting ting can enact a magical power over the outer world. It It is no longer wewe,， who stay out out of the painting painting,， that creates creates the “"reality"reality" of the paintingpainting,， but it is the painter' painter' painter'ss hand depicted in the the painting which generates the the whole creation. Vincent wrote to Fig. Fig. 12. Paul Gauguin Gauguin, ， Portrait de Vincent aux tourn- tourn­ Theo on this painting: “"itit is sols sols,， Oil on canvas canvas,， 73 x 91 cmcm,， 1888,1888 ， RiRijksmuseum jksmuseum meme,， but who got mad". The Vincent Van Gogh.

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sunfiower sunfiower sunflower which remains alive alive,， although the painting was executed at the end of November also explains that it was not a copy of outer reality but was an artistic creation" “"creation"creation" in the strongest sense of the word. 民Moreover,10reover ， this sunfiower sunflower has has,， un-un­ doubtedly doubtedly,， the same kind of eye as that of Odilon Redon's {Il {II y eut peut-etre une vi- vi­ sion sion premiere essayee dans la fleur} f/eur} [fig. 13] which gazes at us us,， the beholde beholder. r. Without the eye which sees sees,， there is no visual world possible. As Gauguin's spiritual mentormentor,， Redon put it it, ， painting is a privileged place which makes the invisible world visible2o .• According According to this magical thinking thinking,， the canvas is nothing but the theater of trans-substantiation trans-substantiation where the miracle of making the invisible thing visible was per- per­ formed by the painter. The ideal place place,， by definition u-topia u-topia,， was found nowhere else else but on this pictorial plane by and in which Vincent (and also Paul Gauguin) were were literally “"possessed",possessed" ， in a demonological sense of this expression. To put it in an ordinary context of aesthetic explanation explanation,， the end of mimesis has thus prepared to to bestow upon the painting the power of directly infiuencing influencing the beholder's mental state state (“長:t("etatat d'ame"). Let us recall here that Georges Seurat's psychological scientism and theoretical approaches were nothing but another version of the same desperate effort effort to capture this magic power of painting21.painting21 •

5 Gauguin shared Vincent's idea of making a portable album of images and visual sources sources for study. study . We read in the Diverses Diverses ChosesChoses,， notes and refiections reflections written written during his first stay in OceaniaOceania,， the the following observation on his portable museum: “"Croquis Croquis japonais japonais,， estampes d'Hokousaid 'Hokousai, ， lithographies de DaumierDaumier,， [cruelles [cruelles observations de] Forain Forain,，る ecolecole de de Giotto Giotto,， groupes en ce recueil [en un album]album],， non par hasard hasard,， de par marna [bonne] [bonne] volonte volonte,， tout ait fait intentionnee (not (not by accident but by my own will quite

intentionally). intentionally). J'J'yy joins une photographotogra­由 phie phie d'une peinture de Giotto]. Parce que Fig. 13. OdOdiloni1 on RedonRedon, ， 11 II y eut peut-etre d'apparences d'apparences differentes je veux en une vision premiere essayee dans la fleur ， dans Les Origines ，lithography ， demontrer demontrer les liens de parente [for from fleur, dans Les Origines, lithography, demontrer les liens de parente [for,， from 22.3 x 17.217.2cm cm,， 1883,1883 ， Paris Paris, ， Collection the the apparent differences differences,， 1I want to Dina Vierny.

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圃 Van Gogh's Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered demostrate demostrate the affinities which tie them together]"22.

This passage This passage passage reveals the secret of Gauguin's ars combinatori combinatoria,α， ， practiced dur- dur­ ing ing his stay in Oceania. He freely and intentionally extracted various iconographical sources sources out of their original context so as to to combine them for his own purposes in his his artistic creation. ArArt t historians have made great great contributions in identifying many of these hid- hid­ den visual sources ranging from an Egyptian frieze of oxen [fig. 14-a],14-a] ， which was to be found transposed in the snow-covered Brittany village landscape [fig. 14] left at his his Maison de jouir in Atuona at the artist's death in 1903 and bought by Victor Segalen Segalen at the Parisian auction the same year; or the the Parthenon frieze of horses [fig. 15-a],15-a] ， which will reappear in Tahitian sceneries [fig. 15] and up to the images of bud-bud­ dhist statues dhist statues statues of Borobudur which Gauguin had disco- disco­ vered vered at the Exposition uni- uni­ verselle verselle in 1889. It would be superfluous superfluous to mention his transposition transposition of Hokusai's wrestlers wrestlers [fig. 16-a] into the biblical biblical image of Jacob wrestling wrestling with the Angel Gabriel Gabriel [fig. 16] 16],， and which Camille Camille Pissarro Pis sarro severely criticized criticized as the imitation of Fig. 14-a. Tombeau de Ti in Sakkarah Sakkarah,， fromfrom, ， "“ Japanese,Japanes~ ， Byzantin painters Labourage Labourage, ， Bas-relief egyptien egyptien,， Ph. Giraudon. and others "23 . BButIl t as for the logic of this this ars combinatoria,combinatoria ， no substantial substantial remarks have been given by art historians historians,， as as as far as 1I know. 1I propose to call call it a “"creolizationcreolization in visual visual combinations combinations",ぺ byex-byex­ trapolating trapolating the idea of syntac- syntac­ tical tical transformation and lex- lex­ ical ical de-contextualization which are observed by linguists linguists in the process of hybridization hybridization and syncretism Fig. 14. Paul Gauguin Gauguin,， Nuit de NoelNoel,， Oil on canvas canvas,， of of languages languages24 . 72 x 83 cmcm,， 1894-,1894- ， Lausanne Lausanne, ， Private Collection.

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Fig. Fig. 1S-a.15-a. “"DetailDetail du cortegecort とge des Pana- Pana­ Fig. 15. Paul Gauguin Gauguin,， Le Cheval blanc blanc,， thenees thenees",ヘ Les Frieses du Parthenon Parthenon,， by Oil on canvas canvas,， 141 x 91 cmcm,， 1898,1898 ， Paris Paris, ， Charles Charles Yriarte Yriarte, ， Planches photographiques Musee d'Orsay. par par ArArosa. osa. Paris Paris,， Bibilioth Bibiliotheque とque nationale. AmAmongong many relevant worksworks, ， let us analyse here here,， as a typical exampleexample,， Te arii vahine vahine [fig. 17]. Francoise Fran90ise CachinCachin,， among others others,， has already pointed out two major iconographical iconographical sources: Diana [fig. 17-a] by Lucas Cranach elder and of course Manet's Manet's Olympia [fig. 17-b]. The tree at the center with a serpent serpent which coils up its trunk trunk indicates without am-am­ biguity the biguity the tree of knowledge and temptation. The subject matter matter can only be “"L'EveL'Eve tahitienne" tahitienne",， as Gauguin himself himself suggests. Although the the explanation given by Gauguin does not encourage such such an interpretation interpretation,， the black black dog with his red lewd eyes eyes and the ripe mangoas ex- ex­ hibiting hibiting their red fruity pulp Fig. 16. Paul Gauguin,Gauguin ， LLa α Vision apres le Ie sermon ouou,， la la Lutte de Jacob avec range range,， Oil on canvas canvas,， inevitably inevitably connote the loss of inevitably connote the loss of 73 x 92 cmcm,，_1888,1888 ， Edinbourgh Edinbourgh, ， National GGallery a1 1ery of virginity virginity (Perte du pucerage Scotland.

162 162 Van Gogh's Japan Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered

[fig. [fig. 17-c] to use the title of one of Gauguin's Gauguin's paintings)25. Still,Still ， the message Gauguin would have hoped to transmit re- re­ mains equivocal equivocal,， and all the more equivocal as as the posture of the model also suggests the image of Nirvana drawn from one of the photographs photographs of the Borobudur stupa in Gauguin's Gauguin's possession [fig. 17-d]. How can the the fall of human beings be reconciled reconciled,， in this this tropical setting of Tahitian society society,， with the the Buddhist idea of nirvana? Should nir- nir­ vana not represent the opposite and “"the the other other side of the shore" of such an infamous human degeneration which characterized the the “"EuropeanEuropean Civilization" Gauguin had re- re­ jected jected while being himself rejected from it? Fig. Fig. 16-a. Katsushika HokusaiHokusai,， Hokusai MangaManga,， Book III III,， fo fol. l. 6/7 6/7,， before before 1819. before 1819. 6

F.tr 此抗 +L.，-AmAmJA9ei--db ・悶 民if MmMmω・引は 副ル開明一川崎叩叫問dnMmmm r 守 tlkLhP t 副 mh泊、古roy崎 uucodo活 01n3 W11un mu UTmphmAemmMm判 MαME-uωomdqyieheucn-Huedohtintαiadd日ud w-mpmiEdGpe To answer this question,A it would be approriateUEeje; to quote from the interview publish­-de 〆 ・日 ，刈JadωmfMMリ.pr-mhugfati aE'''Aの vx"{duaMMPn 0ha ヱ はnobuwnn. ed、 in Echo de Paris (13 mai 1895).・ "The Eva of my choice is almost an animal, and hniEhl'mdmM・ 出 vh paheodtuen.nhda.0heteusC3・ dM 比側 AT 円 時 ・‘・・・川淵ぱ削 eoUmdQF3ha白い ebb"引 er md. nd that's why she is chaste.比百 All the Venuses exhibited in the Parisian Salon [fig. 18] are 紅 EAnuYS 円、dew ・問U 註 百 ト indecentA4YE. and odiously sensualJ [lubriques] "26. Here is a radical upside-down opera­ ーは 町ωn 旧宮 山託 広町，』川崎 M'G11・ t-H町パ 忠則 戸時問 ohf-mexhrln J 品抗 -sanesrnr tion of moral judgement,引 inevitably tinted with the mythological figure of the im­ “b b0han-uhuhn-Men・ 下町同一則蜘仰向don--cos-m-ukb-mω .A， ゆ e 旧 0 HH 向Z otshortJ-hdthdωdeg-U41E maculate nature of "bon sauvage" Gauguin』 aspired to be identified with. TW This confession邸前 seems to have been based on a 、i ・倉塁 手予三 九号、烹E ・E ・-ー ~ t.:-"~匂ヲ..-r~ 島町r~ 、法骨一・- 略目 剖 netmaHin'uuhmm.ω・ shocking initiation Gauguin enupsviov had the chance to experience Eまぎて 決戦.寸 ωh ぱ MMRdM on the occasion of the Areois . ~ 叫 .-J ・ .ー- ωmMd・ω 民 Z' / . - r ー一 DI 品川園. ritual throne succession after 瓜 Mm eydGtl， 0 the death of Pomare V, on 1 同一山 ・."'E~~-・・・・ ~，~:lI・lIlIlI』lilll 謝料 、合..Iゐと1〓E圃 June 1892,… shortly after 仁 叩 ・mdMMM Gauguin's arrival in Tahiti.・ Iedu--h 句ゐ叫げお・日 山明M In his ethnological note" An­-nt- 泊 一us m・ r与 cien Culte Maori", Gauguin .mAmd耐山町.nhryaek 加め depicts with vivacity the last 凶 n ぱ即 Fig. Fig. 17. Paul Gauguin ，Te arii vahine ， Oil on canvas ， moment of the ritual of ab- Fig. 17. Paul Gauguin, Te arii vahine, Oil on canvas, J n 川 97 97 x 130 cmcm,， 1896 1896, ， Leningrad Leningrad, ， Ermitage Museum. jection where the newly

163 163

> INAGA Shigemi

throned throned king is covered with urine urine and feces 27 • According to Alain BabadzanBabadzan,， this ritual sacrilege sacrilege is interpreted as the process process of symbolic death and resurrection of the newly nominated king. The en- en­ thusiastic thusiastic sexual orgy played Fig. Fig. 17-a. Lucas Cranach Cranach,， Le Repos de DianaDiana,， ca. in extasy extasy,， wwhich hich accom­accom- 1537,1537 ， Besancon Besan90n, ， Musee des Beaux- Beaux-Arts.Ar ts. panies the ritual as a manifestation manifestation of human in- in­ tercourse tercourse with divi divinity,凶ty ， was probably probably what astonished Gauguin at first and led him later later to the revelation of the “"savage" savage" notion of chastity chastity.. The apparent obscenity was revealed revealed to be free from any European sense of lubricity. This This ethical conversion per- per­ mitted mitted Gauguin to conceive the the Tahitian Eva as im-im­ Fig. Fig. 17-b. Paul Gauguin's copy of Edouard Manet's Fig. 17-b. Paul Gauguin's copy of Edouard Manet's maculate even after having OlympiaOlympia,， Oil on canvas canvas,， 83 x 130 cmcm,， Feb. 1891,1891 ， Private Private Collection. committed “"originaloriginal sin". Let Let us quote from the original original French:

Elle “"ElleElle est bien subtile subtile,， tr tresとs savante dans sa naivete naIvete,， l'Eve l'Eve tahitienne. L'enigme refugiee refugiee au fond de leurs yeux yeux d'enfants me reste in- in­ communicable. (…)( ... ) C'est l'Eve l'Eve apr apresとs le Ie pechepeche,， pouvant encore encore marcher nue sans im- im­ pudeurpudeur,， conservant toute sa Fig. Fig. 17-c. Paul Gauguin Gauguin,， La Perte du pucelage pucelage, ， Oil on canvas canvas,， 90 x 130 cmcm,， 1891,1891 ， Norfork Norfork, ， Chrysler ArArtt beaute animale comme au Museum. premier jjour. our . (…)( ... ) Comme

164 164

圃 Van Gogh's Japan Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered

l'Eve l'Eve,， le Ie corps est reste animal animal,， mais la tete a pro- pro­ gresse gresse avec l'evolution l'evolution,， la pensee pensee a developpe la sub- sub­ tilite,tilite ， l'amour a imprimeimp rime le Ie sourir sourir ironique sur ses 1levres,とvres ， et et,， naivement nalvement, ， elle cherche dans dans sa memoire le Ie pourquoi des des temps passes passes,， des temps d'aujourd'hu d'aujourd'hui. i. Enigmatique- Enigmatique­ mentment,， elle vous regarde.-regarde.­ Fig.17-d. Fig.17-d. Photograph of The scenes from The C'est de l' I'intangible intangible ，, a-t-on AAwadenas wadenas and The Jatakas Jatakas,， Javas lavas, ， Temple of dit dit.lSoit,.l Soit ， jj'accepte"28.'accepte"28. Borobudur Borobudur,， from Beshrijving van BarbudenBarbuden, ， II series (B) (B), ， 111. Ill. VVI. I. Here from the Exhibition catalogue GauguinGauguin,， Paris Paris, ， R.M.N.R.M.N., ， 1989 1989, ， p. 388. This passage leads to the the fundamental criticism of the the Western and institutionalized Christian morality morality,， while already suggesting the basic basic idea of Gauguin's most famous masterpiece D'ou venons-nousvenons-nous,， qui sommes-sommes­ nousnous,， ou αallons-nous? llons-nous? In his note “"Question Question de droit? Les enfants sont-ils respon respon-・ sables sables des fautes de leurs parents?" parents?",， writ- writ­ ten ten during his second stay in Tahiti Tahiti,， Gauguin violently denounced the catholic and protestant authorities. According to GauguinGauguin,， the legal mariage imposed by the the church as a moral duty is the source of all all kind of hypocrisyhypocrisy,， which has engendered engendered such hideous things as trade of of human flesh (“ ("negoce negoce de la chair") and mental prostitution (“ ("prostitutionprostitution de l'ame")29. l'ame")29. This seems to be the virUs vir'us born from the civilization civilization,， for for, ， he maintains maintains,， such such a question is not asked by the savage people people in Oceania or in Africa. Moreover,Moreover ， as as soon as the Christianity is propagated among themthem,， the vice which had never been known before appears at the same Fig. Fig. 18. William BouguereauBouguereau,， time as the grape leaves below the navenavel. l. Naissance Naissance de Venus,Venus ， Oil on canvas canvas,， 300 300 x 218 cmcm,， 1879 1879, ， Paris Paris, ， Musee d'Or- Gauguin concludes that such a morality say. say. had been preached neither in Buddhist

165 165 INAGA Shigemi sutras sutras nor in the Gospels 30 3o .

Gauguin tried to justify his seeming a-morality by radically re-interpreting the the Biblical texts: “"GrowGrow and mumultiply"1t iply" (“ ("Croissez Croissez et mumultipliez") 1t ipliez") is regarded as a carnal carnal promise (“ ("parole parole charnelle"); for GauguinGauguin,，“ "multiply"mu 1t iply" is the imperative for coupling coupling (“ ("accouplement") accouplement") without questioning its legality and which is applicable not not only to human beings but to also to all animals and plants. And the fact that “"nono woman could stone the aduadulterous1t erous Mary Magdalene indicates that “"humanhuman being cannot cannot exist without sin and that sin is a necessary condition for humanity"31.

7

Gauguin's Gauguin's illustrations for Ancient culte Maori or Noa Noa [fig. 19] eloquentlyex- eloquentlyex­ presses presses this “"savage" savage" ethics. The nude (figure belowbelow,， borrowed from the Peruvian Mummy Gauguin copied at the Musee d'ethnologie [fig. 23-a]) 23-aD, ， represents Death which is also the soil for the Tree of Life of the upper part part,， with its anthropomor-anthropomor­ phism modeled after the Hina divinity. The scene of sexual intercourse on the top of the the flower petals represents procreation and regeneration. The mystery of the life cy- cy­ cle cle is pure from any notion of vice imposed by the civilization: “"L'inconnu L'inconnu du vice chez chez des sauvages". Moreover Gauguin was fascinated by the Tahitian notion of

Fig. Fig. 19. Paul Gauguin Gauguin,， Album Noa Noa Noa,， Fig. 20. Paul Gauguin Gauguin,， Oviri Oviri, ， grit- grit­ fo fo1.75.1. 75. Paris Paris,， Musee du Louvre Louvre,， Cabinet des stone stone,， partly enamelled enamelled,， 75 x 19 x dessins. dessins. 27 cmem,， 1894,1894 ， Paris Paris, ， Musee d'Orsay.

166 166 Van Gogh's Japan Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered

"sauvage"“ sauvage" and hoped to identify himself with the divinity called Oviri [fig. 20],20] ， which meant "savage"“ savage" in Tahitian. Gauguin explains this "enigmatic“ enigmatic divinity" as "the“ the monster which,which ， grasping its creatures,creatures ， fecundates them with its semen from its generous generous flanks so as to engender Seraphitus-Seraphita"32. As is already well-known,well-known ， Seraphitus-Seraphita was an androgynous angel created created by Balzac under the influence of Swedenborg. A note in his manuscript clear­clear- ly ly indicates Gauguin's interest in,in ， and seduction to,to ， androgynous features of the "savage"“ savage" people ("Ie(“ le cote androgyne du sauvage,sauvage ， Iele peu de difference de sexe chez les animaux") suggesting also his own desire to become female for a moment ("Desir(“ Desir d'etre d'etre un instant faible,faible ， femme")33. It It is in this mystical novel by Balzac that we find the famous phrase: "Do“Doyou you understand understand the destination of humanity by means of this visual thought?thought ? from where it comes and where it goes"34. The word "visual“visual thought" ("pensee(“ pensee visible") is suggestive suggestive,， as Gauguin himself left at his notebook the following remark which is supposed supposed to have been written for the canvas in question: “"MonMon Dieu,Dieu ， que c' est difficile difficile la peinture quand on veut exprimer sa pensee avec des moyens picturaux et non litteraires"35 litteraires "35 [fig. 21]. Is Is it then really adequate to try to decipher this huge panel by way of literary approachapproach,， as if to suppose that the whole composition conceals a meaning to be analyzed analyzed as allegorical symbolism ? Instead of this conventional approachapproach,， 1I here want to propose to follow the process of ars combinatoria as Gauguin proceeded iit.t. Faithful Faithful to Gauguin's Gauguin.'s title title, ， let us try to reconstitute the genealogy of icongraphical elements elements which constitutes Gauguin's creation: we shall ask: where did the images come fromfrom,， what the images are are,， then where the images are to go.

8

F +LM kbfy hk loL 制 T'hucaauMh -Mm VM出-ル1 dmsHIHoltGu--te--:30戸時nbmwMKMlout 1JρiwF3F1 F3φt 内』 内 o- 0rA SKpIuerAnu pd 戸しvρiw nFロ』・amon0a eu VV 出 の崎町にv'ti--e.mbeRgo!Lm-ωKMMMWT ntesa-?- For this purpose,'AU let's have a look民 at The Portraita'州 jan---A de Meyer de Haan [fig. 22]. On

仕 &ELぬ 唱 11 ・・・ ・ ド 日 ，正 d'i n自 M eOLSαeMMMuvuunUU HnTUWSopcwwa'ne似ぬが the table rendered by the diagonal可 lines subdividingA 吋 the composition lie two books: 必 noαct咽且 one is Milton's Paradise 出.時市∞…川氏?， 可 宝 omq 凶 E-~43?KI- Lost; the other is Carlyle's onv' 汀 e. 幡、 J VJJ - Sartor Resartus, 'nwotuawhere a 官十Jt ・U9・ J - 閃 吋 叫 ム司 JE ごば - recurring question was山 151ask­ w-Mr吋 け hn.HMh - 白 可・ eAp mMAMm' F- ed: "Who川・・ am I ? what is me? 7 - 01ddaA MM0unmW 71 A Voice,IF-- A Motion, an Ap­ 一が 自 叩晶悶 町 ぽ怠 d 戸 ↓ E v pearance-some embodied,， 一 . dLlkHM ht目印 IIt 一 sin唱且 悶 一 visualizedmmM Idea in the Eternal Fig.21. Fig.21. Paul Gauguin ，D'ou venons-nous? Qui som- SW 剖 1 別加 Fig. 21. Paul Gauguin, D'ou venons-nous? Qui som­ mind ? ( ... ) Sure enough I mes-nous? ou allons-nous? Oil on canvas canvas,， 1 m nωコ 139 139 x 374.5 cmcm,， 1897 1897, ， Boston Boston, ， Museum of Fine Arts. am; and川 lately was not: but

167 167 INAGA Shigemi

whencewhence? ? How? Whereto?" which had been translated translated into French by Hypolitte Taine as “"MaisMais d'o d'ouむ venons-nous ?0 0 DieuDieu,， ou allons- allons­ nous ?36 It It was therefore on this portrait of Meyer de Haan that the haunting question of “"WhereWhere do we come fromfrom,， who are wewe,， Where are are we going to" encountered for the first time the the idea of the loss of paradise. And by a cruel coincidence coincidence,， Gauguin in Tahiti was actually ex- ex­ periencing periencing the loss of the last paradise on earth earth,， as is clearly observed in the letters of Gauguin's Gauguin's last daysdays,， struggling with the catholic catholic church and local French colonial authorities. authorities. Gauguin was convinced of the ex- ex­ tinction tinction of a race in the near future. “"Aussi Aussi Fig. Fig. 22. Paul Gauguin Gauguin, ， Portrait de nous assistons a ce triste spectacle qui est l' l'ex­ex- Meyer de Haan “"SartorSartor Resartus Resartus,， Carlyle Carlyle,， Le Paradis perduperdu,， tinction de la race en grande partie poitrinaire poitrinaire,， Milton" Milton",， Oil on board board,， 79.6 x les reins infecondes et les ovaires detruits par le Ie 51.7 51.7 CID ，1889 ，Private Collection. 51.7 cm, 1889, Private Collection. mercure"37. This This observation proved to be a tragical- tragical­ ly ly faithful description of the disastrous situation the Marquesas Islands were suffer- suffer­ ing ing,， its inhabitants being contaminated by all kinds of unknown diseases like syphilis syphilis,， leprosy and especially tuberculosis imported by the commericial whale-cat- whale-cat­ ching ching white fishermen and sailors (which reminds us Herman Merville's 乃Typee:'pee: A Peep of Polynesian Life [1846] or Omoo: A Narrative of Adventure in the South Seas Seas [1 [1847]). 847]). The population which counted about 80 thousand at the begining of the the 19th Century had come down to only 3.500 when Gauguin arrived there at the end of the century. The paradise was literally on the edge of extinction 38 . These These circumstances permit us to understand that Gauguin's worksworks,， however idealized idealized and therefore faithless to the reality of the islands islands,， as some post-colonial criticism criticism goes goes,， were nonetheless the ultimate images which could be created at the very very last moment of the islands history history,， when the discovery of paradise was only the reverse reverse of its definitive and irremediable loss. It was on this irreversible point of human history that Gauguin's vision took its shape. The end of the European ex- ex­ ploration ploration of the planet coincided with the loss of the last unknown world. With this second second paradise lost lost,， as it was called by a visionary JJapanese apanese non-academic scholar Aramata Hiroshi Hiroshi,， we are convinced that to “"know"know" paradise amounts to its loss loss,， and that that paradise is the name of a place which cannot be known without the price of its

168 168 Van Gogh's Japan Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered

disappearance; disappearance; In the final analysis analysis,， the possession of the marvellous is no longer a marvellous marvellous possession39 •

9

0 dS8u.，da(yEh--t 1JLunyσbiNeOeEPaz-J'EEA h Htdl heJ 廿・・創刊脱出白川凹hmAMmAhhdL払・刈句耐ぽ川知，〈創 MM・ 引I--vupiG制刀市 侃 pM yt8nHす釘 apgaanrob市街即 口 α0 児 pmuboh-udV pmm.r目 1IaOnsdA~ Quite paradoxicallyEAιEL Meyer且、‘， de Haan,'aue whosevnS4JBL portrait且・ had predicted Gauguin's ・ -m2m れ ωMhsrftnαVvdnanH 戸し曹司川』円は「 αF15WE、 'naa fEH1AugM t 託1deK8JFpngfpnmAWO 問 destiny to assiste atlv the loss ofJaiv' the Paradise of Tahiti, reappeared in a panel named fL1 刈 ・ bw 伽、コ山二酬の制北川山仰向 4 --AFE--t 畑山川 河川 創 - oddE1eyoun mmLmt Nirvana [fig. 23]・ (1890).JaF4 The background rendering Death, EE'modeled by the same 崎，〆園叫 制 HUL ゆ r叶 四 duιduml剖 ト・ Peruvian mummy [fig. 23-a], was to be re-utilized at the left side of D'ou venons­

O 出汁 川町 nous,，幻・時 ou sommes-nous ... ドト L. vmFUsou- [fig. 21]. De Haan,内 who was ωMm1・n %MmAmovnndbwm. to die in 1895, also seems to M.nm出 仰仰 haunt the‘ Manao Tupapau問均出凶・ fdh白 (Esprit山 des morts veil/e) [fig. MmwGQnsす 3alos--訂 .m伺 24] as山町 theLav--huyr personified Death,，， 由加制・出前 a.PMK出カ日開 mmaMmuJ1 rather than as a dead soul, vmvu wme-eee who was going to deprive n mmMH Gauguin of his newborn son. M 匂 巾出品 Quite blasphemously for the 制御例 4d 創 narrow-minded faithful, the e 民削 .u scene clearly imitates the Fig. Fig. 23. Paul GauginGaugin, ， Portrait de Jacob de Haan ou Nirvana Nirvana, ， oil on canvas canvas,， 20 x 29 cmcm,， 1889,1889 ， Hartford Hartford, ， Wadsworth Atheneum.

Fig.24. Fig.24. Fig. 24. Paul GauguinGauguin,， Manao tupapau μ[L 'esprit'e ，ψ rit des morts 'morts veille} veil/e},， oil on canvas canvas,， 73 x 92 cmcm,， 1892,1892 ， Fig. 23-a. Peruvian MummyMummy,， Buffalo Buffalo,， Albright-Knox ArArt t Gallery. Paris Paris,， Musee de l'homme.

169 169 INAGA Shigemi

Nativity Nativity [fig. 25] or the birth of the Jesus-Chris Jesus-Christ. t. As a Messenger of the Dead worldworld,， De Haan thus repeatedly appeared so as to induce Gauguin to meditation on Life and Death. The second genealogicalline genealogical line to be traced back here is a series of pastoralland- pastoral land­ scapes scapes represented by Pastoral tahitienne and Arearea [fig. 26] 26],， which provide miniatuarized miniatuarized archetypal images of an island paradise with a tree of life at its center.

ArAroundound the tiny isle is a vast panorama of ocean irradiating brocade brocade-like四 like primary colors colors with vivid contrasts of decorative effect like an “"old old tapestry". It is irresitible to to quote from a famous passage from Diverses Choses: “ "lala tout n'est qu'or- qu'or­ dre dre et beaute beaute,， luxe luxe, ， calme et volupte" volupte" ...

“"TouteToute perspective dd'eloignementモloignement serait un non-non­ sens; sens; voulant suggerer une nature nature luxuriante et desor- des or­ donneedonnee, ， un soleil soleil du tropique qui qui embrase tout autour de lui lui, ， il me fallait bien donner aames mes personnages un cadre en en accord. / C'est bien la vie Fig. Fig. 25. Paul Gauguin Gauguin, ， Nativite tahitienne tahitienne,， Oil on can- can­ en accord. / C'est bien la vie vas vas,， 66 x 76 cm 1896,1896 ， Leningrad Leningrad, ， Ermitage Museum. en plein air air,， mais cependant intime intime,， dans les fourres fourres,， les ruisseaux ruisseaux ombresombres,， ces fem-fem­ mes chuchotant dans un im-im­ mense palais decore par la nature nature elle-meme elle-meme,， avec tou- tou­ tes tes les richesses que Tahiti renferme. renferme. De la la,， toutes ces couleurs couleurs fabuleuses fabuleuses,， cet air embraseembrase,， mais tamisetamise,， suencleux suencleux silencieux"1 ・ "40 40

According to Gau-Gau­ guin's guin's aesthetics aesthetics,， these pain­pain- Fig. Fig. 26. Paul Gauguin Gauguin,， Arearea Arearea, ， Oil on canvas canvas,， tings can be typical examples 75 75 x 94 cmcm,， 1892,1892 ， Paris Paris, ， Musee d'Orsay. of the “"TruthfulnessTruthfulness of the

170 170 Van Gogh's Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered falsehood" falsehood" (“ ("veriteverite du mensonge"). Fully to express the “"grandeur grandeur and profundity of of the mystery of Tahiti" by a canvas as small as one meter square square,， an unusual densi- densi­ ty ty and intensity are required in order to aquire an effect as strong as that of nature itsel itself. f. To obtain the "equivalent"“equivalent" of NatureNature,， condensing it within a small pictorial plane plane,， the use of primary colors with exaggerated and unnatural crudeness is justified41 • Painting here is clearly conceived of as the the" “ equivalent" of the real world. The dog at the foot of the tree in Pastoral tahitienne tahitienne,， to be transposed into the right side side of D'ou venons-nous must be Gauguin's doubledouble,， in guise of his own signature. Inspir- Inspir­ ing ing faithfullness faithfullness,， he looks like waiting for his master master,， who finally arrives in Arearea mak-mak­ ing ing the the pose of Buddhist meditation at the foot foot of the Tree of Life. This posture posture,， ap- ap­ plied plied from a photograph of Borobudur statues statues faithfully follows the traditional iconography iconography of the personage under the sacred sacred tree as an invitation to the phase of nir- nir­ vana [fig. 27-a]. These These two genealogic lines lines,， oneone, ， the figures figures of Meyer de HaanHaan,， the other other,， the posture posture of Buddhist meditation meditation,， are finally Fig. Fig. 27. Paul Gauguin Contes bar- bar­ combined in Comtes barbares [fig. 27] 27],， sup- sup­ bares bares,， oil on canvas canvas,， 131.513 1. 5 x posed to be one of the last paintings by 90.5 90.5 cm,cm ， 1902,1902 ， Essen Essen, ， Folkwang Museum. Gauguin. Once again again,， there is no clear key to decipher decipher the message and the scene scene remains enigmatic. Meyer de Haan's feet are transformed transformed into hooked-hooked­ shaped shaped claws or talons. The female female figure at the right of the the man in meditation meditation,， is identified identified as TohotauaTohotaua,， whose husband is recorded 42 as as a magician doctor •

And yet this informa- informa­ Fig. Fig. 27-a. Borbudor (J ava) ，details of the bas-reliefs ， Fig. 27-a. Borbudor (Java), details of the bas-reliefs, tion alone cannot help us photos photos by Van Kinsbergen Kinsbergen,， 1910,1910 ， Paris Paris, ， Biblioth Bibliotheque とque nationale nationale, ， Archives. read the message of the pain-

171 171 INAGA Shigemi ting. ting. tinge Still Still,， the provenance of these three figures reveals us the plain fact that the messenger messenger of Paradise Lost and the enigma of Life of Sartor Resartus are juxtapos- juxtapos­ ed ed with a Tahitian girl around a meditation on the Nirvana. And this spatial co-ex- co-ex­ istence istence is itself a testimony of a mysterious configuration which would not have been possible possible were it not for Gauguin's quest for paradise. These These heterogeneous elements are summoned there together for the momentmoment,， evoking evoking some “"affinity"affinity" (“ ("lien lien de parente") as Gauguin put it it,， to be separated from each each other at the next momentmoment,， to configure another affinity. The migration and creolization" “"creolization"creolization" ofthese of these iconographical elements in Gauguin's Work can been seen as a metaphor for Life Life,， which is nothing but the enigma of an eternal succession of con- con­ figuration figuration and disfiguration disfiguration,， assemblage and dis-assemblage dis-assemblage,， insemination and dissemination. dissemination. D'ou venons-nous venons-nous,， qui sommes-noussommes-nous,， ou allons-nous [fig. 21] is no longer longer a mere title of one of a Gauguin's paintings; in its perpetual “"oeuvrement" oeuvrement" and “"desoeuvrement",desoeuvrement" ， by its process of “"creolizedcreolized syncretism" syncretism",， Gauguin's Work as a whole constitues the allegory of this question of Life which has no petrified answer. answer.

10 10 Gauguin replied to Emile Bernard when the latter told him of the death of Vincent in in 1890. “"ToTo die at that moment is a great happiness happiness for himhim, ， it's exactly the end of suffering suffering and if he comes back in another life life,， he shall carry the fruit of his good behavior behavior in this world--according to the Law of Buddha"43. 13 13 years later later,， when the news of Gauguin's Gauguin's death was transmitted to France France,， Odilon Odilon Redon compared Gauguin's ceramic work to such “"anan initial region where each flower flower would be an archetype of one species" species" and remarked that Gauguin's strong strong virtuality and originality would be recognized recognized in the repercussion among other artists artists around him 44 [fig. 28]. The mechanism of successive in­in- Fig. Fig. 28. OdOdiloni1 on RedonRedon,， Portr Portrait α， it de semination and dissemination dissemination,， configura- configura­ Paul Paul Gauguin Gauguin,， Oil on canvas canvas,， tion tion and disfiguration we 0 bserved in and 66 66 x 54.5 Cffi cm,， 1903-5,1903-5 ， Paris Paris, ， Musee tion and disfiguration we observed in and d'Orsay. d'Orsay. within the personal creation of Gauguin is is,，

172 172 Van Gogh's Japan and Gauguin's Gauguin 's Tahiti reconsidered

Fig.29. Fig.29. Fig. 29. Odilon RedonRedon,， BouddhaBouddha, ， Pastel Fig. 30. Odilon RedonRedon,， Le Sommeil de on carton carton,， 90 x 73 cmcm, ， ca. 1905,1905 ， Paris Paris, ， Caliban,Caliban ， Oil on canvas canvas,， 48.3 x 38.5 cmcm,， 恥Musee1usee d'Orsay. 1895-1900,1895-1900 ， Paris Paris, ， Musee d'Orsay. according according to RedonRedon, ， applicable to a wider range of history and the spiritual migra- migra­ tion tion goes on beyond the limit of an individual creator. Redon was also an artist who hopedhoped,， one year after the death of GauguinGauguin,， to be reincarnated in India45 • A huge tree is recognized as Redon's source of visual imagination. Swallow-Swallow­ ing ing up all the hidden souls from the invisible world of subterranean water currents currents,， the the tree lets us see what would have otherwise remained invisible. Beside the tree tree,， Redon is known to have posed Caliban and Buddha as twins46• Is it too far-fetched to to see in each of them the reincarnation of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin: Vin- Vin­ cent cent as a Japanese Buddhist monk [fig. 29] and Gauguin as a savage Caliban in an island island paradise [fig. 30] ? Even though this hypothesis is too hazardous hazardous,， at least we can can conclude without hesitation that the dream of Metempsychosis and longing for nirvana nirvana were hidden motifs (or rather motives) generating the visual imagination of these three three these three artists who searched for the realization of an ideal-place on and by their pictorial pictorial planes conceived as a theater of magical trans-substantiation47 •

Notes Notes

Unless Unless otherwise mentioned mentioned, ， Letters by Vincent Van Gogh are from Correspondance generale generaie,， 3 tomes tomes, ， Paris: Gallimard Gallimard,， 1960/1990 1960/1990, ， and Writings and letters by Paul Gauguin Gauguin are from Oviri,Oviri ， ecrits d'un sauvage sauvage,， ed by Marcel Guerin,Guerin ， Paris: Gallimard Gallimard,，

173 173 INAGA Shigemi

1970,1970 ， which are translated by me into English in the present paper. It is a well known fact fact that both of these French editions contain some (p (partiallyartially serious) editorial pro- pro­ blems which remain to be revised. AlAlthoughthough the manuscripts have not been to accessible to usus,， 1I could rectify several details thanks to the advices advices of specialists who have direct ac- ac­ cess cess to the manuscripts.

1. 1. cf. Toshihiko KawasakiKawasaki,， Niwa no Ingurando [The Eng/andEngland of the GardenGarden], ]， ch. 7 “"UmiUmi no nakano niwa [Garden in the sea]" sea]",， 1983,1983 ， University of Nagoya Press Press,， pp. 207-246; Toshihiko Toshihiko Kawasaki,Kawasaki ，“ "TooiTooi shima harukana omoi [Isles far awayaway,， Longing insatiable]" , i泊innNα Nagoyadaigakugoy αdαi なgα ku KenkyuronshuKenkyCtronshCt,， Faculty of Letters Letters,， University of NagoyaNagoya,， LXXLXX, ， 1977,1977 ， pp. 231-254. 2. “J'"J'ai ai depuis longtemps ete touche que les artistes japonais ont pratique tr tresとs souvent l'echange l'echange entre eux. Cela prouve bien qu'il s'aimaient et se tenaient et qu'il regnait une certaine certaine harmonie entre eux; qu'ils vivaient justement dans une sorte de vie fraternelle fraternelle,， naturellement naturellement,， et non pas dans les intrigues" (B. 17,17 ， Sep. 1888). 3. 3. cf. Shigemi Inaga “"VanVan Gogh no mita surimono [Surimono prints as Van Gogh could have seen them]?"them]?",， Honno madomado,， Dec. 1993,1993 ， pp. 16-19. Professor John Clark suggeted that that Van Gogh could have consuconsulted1t ed Illustrated London News where Charles Wirgman reported reported the sessions of Kangwakai (1 (1884-88),884-88) ， organized by E. Fenollosa Fenollosa,， Okakura Ten-Ten­ shin shin and other artists like Kano Hogai or Hashimoto GahoGaho,， where the participants made expert expert appraisal of old masterpieces and critical appreciation of newly conceived pieces. pieces. Van Gogh's Letters do not make sure of Van Gogh access to this information. And Kangwakai did not necessarily imply exchanges of works among participants. 4. 4. lettre a TheoTheo,， 492. 5. 5. N. PevsnePevsner釘r “"GemeischaftsidealeGemeis 印chaf 白ts 討ide 伺ale unteunter釘r den bildenden KunsKiinstern坑te 町r口rn des 19 JahrhundeJahrhunderts",ぽrt 臼s" DeDeutscheωut 白sche ， ηVierteljahrschriftVier プt臼e叫lj α幼hrschr{ 伊fβ tfi μfiirur LiLiteraturwissenschaft的t臼era αtω urwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte Geistesgeschichte,， 9 (1931) (1931),， pp 125-154. 6. “"Plus Plus nous leur ressemblerons sous ce respects-la respects-Ia mieux l'on s'en trouvera" (B. 17). 7. “"L'idee L'idee de faire une sorte de Franc-MaconnerieFranc-Ma<;onnerie des peintres ne me plait plaIt pas enormemenenormement. t. J eJJe meprise profondement les rregles,とgles ， les institutions etc. etc.,， enfin je cherche autre chose que les les dogmesdogmes,， qui qui, ， bien loin de regler les choses choses,， ne font que causer des disputes sans fin (…)( ... ) Ce sera plus beau si cela se cristalise naturellement naturellement,， plus on en cause moins cela se fait" "fait"fait" (B. 18). 8. “"Si Si l'on etudie l' l'art art japonais japonais,， alors on voit un homme incontestablement sage et philosophe philosophe et intelligent intelligent,， qui passe son temps a quoi ?A A etudier la distance de la terre a la la lune ? Non. A etudier la politique de Bismarck? Non. Il II etudie un seul brin d'herbe [He studies a single blade of gla glass]. IMais ce brin d'herbe Ie porte a des siner toutes les plantes, ensuite les saisons, les grands aspects des paysages, enfin les animaux, puis la figure humaine. II passe ainsi sa vie et la vie est trop courte a faire Ie tout".! Voyons, cela n'est-ce-pas presque une vraie religion ce que nous enseignent ces Japonais si simples et qui vivent dans la nature comme si eux-memes etaient des fleurs ?" (542). 9. Tsukasa Kodera, Vicent van Gogh, Christianity versus Nature, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/Philaderphia, 1990, p. 57; Shigemi Inaga, "Vincent van Gogh et Ie Japon-au centenaire de la mort du peintre", linbun Ronso, The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, National University of Mie, Nr. 8 1991, p. 79. 10. By the way, is it a mere coincidence that Peter Altenberg was making the same remark in Wiener Fin de siec1e context? : "Die Japaner malen einen Bliitenzweig und es ist der ganze Friihling. Bei uns malen sie den ganzen Fliihring und es ist kaum ein Bliitenzweig. Weise Okonomie ist Alles!" The words by Altenberg being cited by Hermann Bahr, in his" Japanische Ausstellung", Sezession 1900, ss. 216-224; reproduced in Klaus Berger,

174 174 Vα Vann Gogh's Jap Japanαn and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered

JψJaponismus,onismus ， MunchenMiinchen, ， Prestel Verlag Verlag,， 1980,1980 ， ss. 224-226. 11.11.“ "EtEt on ne saurait etudier l' I'art art japonais japonais, ， il me semble semble,， sans devenir beacoup plus gai et plus plus heureuxheureux,， et il nous faut revenir a la nature malgre notre education et notre travail dans dans un monde de convention" (542). 12. “"Iele temps ici reste beaubeau,， et si c'etait toujours comme cela cela,， ce serait mieux que le Ie paradis des des peintres peintres,， ce serait du Japon en plein" (543 (543,， Sep. 1888). 13. 13. "1' ai une lucidite terrible par momentsmoments,， lorsque la nature est si belle de ces j ours-ci et alors alors je ne me sens plus et le Ie tableau me vient comme dans un reve" (543). 14. “"MonMon Dieu il faudrait que ce fut filt possible que tu vecusses dans le Ie Midi aussi aussi,， car je pense toujours toujours qu'il nous faut a nous autres et du soleil et du beau temps et de l' I'air air blue com-com­ meremme remedeとde le Ie plus solide (…)( ... ) Que je pense a toi et a Gauguin et a Bernard a tout moment et et partou partout. t. Tellement c'est beau et tellement je voudrais y voir tout le Ie monde" (543). 15. 15. "Ici "lci,， je suis au Japon" (W.7). 16. “"Iele caractere d'un bonze simple adorateur du Bouddha eternel (...) ( ... ) seulement j' j'ai ai oblique un peu peu les yeux a la japonaise" (545). 17. 17. Shigemi Inagalnaga,，“ "KyodotaiKyodδtai no mokuyaku aruiha hohotekitaiko [Tacit Connivance of the Community or a methodological Regression: van Gogh et/ou le Ie Japon] Japon]",ぺ EurekaEureka,， Dec. 1990,1990 ， pp. 156-173,156-173 ， esp. p. 166. 18. 18. A blind spot still remains unnoticed in the hypothesis mounted by specialists on the famous incident of Van Gogh's cutting oofffI the ear is further investigated in -' our Japanese version version of the same quarry quarry,， to be published in Togenkyo to U-topia (tentative title) title),， ed. by Toru HagaHaga,， PHP kenkyusho. kenkyilsho. 19. 19. Philippe JunodJunod,，“ "(Auto) (Auto) Portrait de l' I'artisteartiste en Christ" Christ",.，- L 'AutoportraitイAutoportrait a lage de la photographiephotographie,， Musee cantonal des Beaux-Beaux-Arts,Ar ts ， LausanneLausanne, ， 1985,1985 ， pp. 3-23. 20. “"TouteToute mon originalite consiste donc a faire vivre humainement des etres in- in­ vraisemblables vraisemblables selon les lois du vraisemblable vraisemblable,， en mettant autant autant que possible possible,， la logique du visible au service de l' l'invisible".invisible". Odilon RedonRedon,， A Soi-memeSoi-meme, ， Paris: Librairie Jose- Jose­ Corti,Corti ， 1979,1979 ， p. 28. 21. 21. AnAndre dre Chastel Chastel,，“ "UneUne Source oubli oubliee伐 de Seurat Seurat",ぺ Archives de 1l'art匂rt francais jranrais,， XXII 1950- 5757,， pp. 400-407; FablesFables,， FormesFormes, ， Figures Figures, ， tome 22,， Paris: FlammarionFlammarion,， 1978,1978 ， pp. 385- 392. 392. 22. 22. Oviri Oviri,， p. 162. The texts between […][... ] are the published version in AAvant vant et apres. 23. “"Je Je ne '-reproche pas a Gauguin d'avoir fait un fond vermillion vermillion,， ni deux geurriers luttant et et les paysans bretonnes au premier pla plan, je lui reproche d'avoir chipe cela aux Japonais et aux peintres bysantins et autres." Lettre de Camille Pissarro, 20 avril 1891 , Correspon­ dance de Camille Pissarro, ed. Janine Bailly-Herzberg, Paris: Valhermeil, tome 3, 1988, p.66; John Rewald's edition: Lettres [de Camille Pissarro] a son fils Lucian, Paris: Albin Michel, 1950, p. 234. 24. On this problematics of "creolisation" as a metaphor of cultural transformation, see, among others, Patrick Chamoiseau and Raphael Confiant, Lettres creoles: Tracees an­ tillaises et continentals de la litterature, 1635-1975, Paris: Hatier, 1991. lmafuku Ryilta, Kureorushugi [Creolisme, or The Heterology oj Culutrej, Tokyo: Seidosha, 1991. 25. En dernier lieu, Fran90ise Cachin, Gauguin "Ce malgre moi de sauvage", Paris: Gallimard, 1989, pp. 108-109. 26. "L'Eve de mon choix est presque un animal; voila pourquoi eslle est chaste, quoique nue. Toutes les Venus exposes au Salon [en France] sont indecentes, odieusement lubri­ ques ... " (Oviri, p. 140). 27. "Le chef ou roi, place sur des nattes, pres de l'image du dieu, y recevait ce qu'ils nom­ maient Ie dernier hommage du peuple. C'etaient des danses et des representations de la plus choquante salete, de l' obscenite la plus grossiere, ou plusieurs hommes et femmes

175 175 INAGA Shigemi

enti entierementとrement nus entouraient le Ie roi et s' s'effon;:aientefforcaient de le Ie toucher des differantes parties de leur leur corps corps,， au point qu' qu'il i1 avait peine a se preserver de leur urine et de leurs excrements dont i1 ilss cherchaient a le Ie couvrir. Cela durait jusuqu'a ce que les pretres recommencas-recommenc;as­ sent sent a sonner de leurs trompettes et a battre de leurs tambourstambours,， ce qui etait le Ie signal de la retraite retraite et de la fin de la fete" (Oviri (Oviri,， pp. 86-87).

Cf. Cf. Alain BabadzanBabadzan,， Les ddepouillesφ ， ouilles des dieux dieux,， Essai sur sur la religion a repoquel'epoque de la decouverte decouverte,， Paris: 亘Editionsditions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme,1993,l'homme ，1993 ， gives some rele- rele­ vant vant insight into this ritua ritual. l. 28. 28. Oviri Oviri,， p. 170. 29. 29. Oviri Oviri,， pp. 182-190.

30. "Oeuvre“ Oeuvre de chair ne feras qu'en marimariage α， 'ge seulement. Qui ne connait connalt aujourd'hui Iele manuel du parfait confesseur confesseur,， d'un sadisme si effrayant [as the moral of imposing legal mariage]? mariage]? En consultant les textes,textes ， soit de Bouddha,Bouddha ， soit de l'Evang I'Evangile,i1 e， on peut se con- con­ vaincre vaincre qu' qu'il i1 n'en est jamais question question,， comme ne faisant pas partie de la sagesse sagesse,， ne con- con­ tribuant tribuant ni au bonheurbonheur,，凶 ni au perfectionnement de l'homme.I'homme. Source de toute hypocrisie hypocrisie,， de bien des maux physiques physiques,， cette Morale [called legal mariage] engendre le Ie grand negoce negoce de de la chair chair,， la prostitution de l' l'ame;ame; et i1 il semble meme que ce soit un virus ne de de la la civilisation civilisation,， car chez les races sauvages d'Oceanie d'Oceanie, ， les peuplades noires de l'AfriqueAfrique, ， i1 il n'en n'en est pas question. De plus plus,， aussitδt aussitot l'apparition I'apparition de la chretiente parmi euxeux,， le Ie vice qui qui leur etait inconnu apparait apparalt chez eux en meme temps que la feu feuillei1l e de vigne au- au­ dessous dessous du nombrnombril" i1" (Oviri (Oviri,， pp. 186-87). 331.1.“ "CroissezCroissez et multmultipliez"伊liez" semble meme dire en tant que parole charnelle ((…) ... ) multipliez multipliez,， c'est-a-dire c'est-a-dire accouplez-vous [et i1 il n'indique aucuneforme legale d'accouplement] d'accouplement], ， loi qui s'applique s'applique aussi bien a l'homme qu'aux animaux et aux plantes (…)( ... ) Que celui qui se trouve trouve sans peche lui jette premiere la pierre" pierre", ， i1 il [Jusus] semble indiquer que personne n'est n'est sans pechepeche,， qu' qu'il i1 faut admettre comme une necessite de l'humanite" (Oviri (Oviri,， p. 187). 32. “"Iele monstremonstre,， etraignant sa creature creature,， feconde de sa semance des flancs genereux pour engendrer engendrer Seraphitus-Seraphita" (Sourire (Sourire,， aoutaofit,1899), ，1899) ， first indicated by Merete Bodersen in her Gauguin's Ceramics Ceramics,， London,London ， 1964,1964 ， pp. 146-152. t 33. 33. 33.' Oviri Oviri,， p. 113. I 34. “"Comprends-tuComprends-tu par cette pensee visible la destin destinee伐 de l' I'humanite? humanite? d'ou elles vient vient,， ou elle va ?" Passage indicated in H. R. RookmaakerRookmaaker,， Gauguin anand 19th Century Art theory, Amsterdam: Swets and Zeitlinger, 1972, p. 232; p. 351. 35. Oviri, p. 166. 36. Rookmaaker. op. cit. (note 34), p. 233. 37. Oviri, p. 326. 38. Bengt Danielsson, Gauguin a Tahiti et aux its marquises, Papeete, Les editions du pacifique, 1975, pp. 244-248. 39. Hiroshi Aramata, Hoa Hoa, Tokyo, Shinchosha, 1995, p. 28. 40. Oviri, p. 169. 41. Oviri, p. 177. 42. See Gauguin, catalogue de I'exposition, Paris: Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, 1989, Editions de la Reunions des musees nationaux, p. 474. 43. "Mourir dans ce moment c'est un grand bonheur pour lui, c'est la fin justement des souffrances, et s'il revient dans une autre vie, il portera Ie fruit de sa belle conduite en ce monde (selon la loi de Bouddha)" (s.d. a Poldu, aofit 1890, Oviri, p. 64). 44. "Je les compare [les oeuvres ceramiques de Gauguin] a des fleurs d'une region premiere ou chaque fleur serait Ie type d 'une espese, laissant a des artistes pro chaines Ie soin de pourvoir par affiliation a des varietes. Le sculpteur sur bois fut un raffine, sauvage, gran­ diose ou delicat, et surtout libre de toute ecole. Peintre, il fut Ie chercheur tres conscient

176 176 Van Gogh's Japan and Gauguin's Tahiti reconsidered

de de ses virtualites; il trouva cette forte originalite dont on peut suivre la repercussion chez d'autres. d'autres. Tout ce qu'il a touche a sa griffe apparente apparente,， ce fut un maitre". maItre". (Odilon RedonRedon,， “"Quelques Quelques opinions sur Paul GauguinGauguin",ぺ Mercure de France France,， nov.~ 1903,1903 ， pp. 428-430). 45. “"LeLe neant n'est point dans les fleurs fleurs,， ni les betes. MoiMoi,， 1'attendsJ' attends une immense misericorde misericorde pour nousnous, ， si petits dans l'univers. Devenons-nous lui demander la raison de notre notre etre ?-Mais je voudrais revivre dans l' l'Inde,Inde ， tout de meme" (Odilon Redon,Redon ， lettre ait Gabriel Frizeau Frizeau,， Nov.Nov., ， 1904; cf. Odilon RedonRedon,， catalogue d'exposition d'exposition,， Paris: 亘Edi­di- tions tions des Musees nationaux nationaux,， 1956/7,1956/7 ， p. 91). 46. 46. Cf. Shigemi Inaga Inaga,，“ "LeLe Sommeil de Caliban Caliban",ぺ Jinbun RonsoRonso,， Faculty of Humanities and Social Social Sciences Sciences,， Mie University University,， Nr. 10,10 ， 1993,1993 ， pp. 37-44 gives a new interpretation oftheof the painting. painting. 47. 47. CCf.f. Werner HofmannHofmann,，“ "ReflexionsR 組 exions sur l'Iconisation l'Iconisation",ヘ Revue de 1['art,勺rt ， Nr.71 Nr.71,， 1986,1986 ， pp.38-42. pp.38-42.

牢* My thanks to Professor John Clark and Professor John Dykes who kindly checked the draft and and gave many useful advices.

177 177

c