White Horse, 91×140 cm, 1898, held at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. This work was created after Gauguin's suicide attempt, as he sought to reinterpret the Parthenon; color here forms an autonomous structure and symbolic meaning rather than serving a descriptive value. Gauguin commented: "I retreated far
White Horse, 91×140 cm, 1898, held in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. This is a work Gauguin resumed painting after his suicide attempt; he sought to reinterpret the Greek Parthenon through it. Here, color ceases to be merely descriptive, forming autonomous structures and symbolic meanings. Gauguin's comment on this painting was: 'I retreated to a distance far greater than that of the horses at the Greek temple, retreating until I was riding horses as a child.' Within Gauguin's astonishing concept of color, his painting exerted a considerable influence on the Nabis and the Fauves.
