Christ in the Garden of Olives

Christ in the Garden of Olives, painted in 1889 and now at the Norton Museum of Art, is one of Gauguin's most openly personal religious paintings. He depicted Christ with his own features, placing himself explicitly in the role of the suffering, misunderstood artist. Gauguin wrote to Émile Bernard about this work, insisting that it was not a conventional religious picture but a meditation on solitude and rejection. Its vivid red hair—his own—and the anguished posture make the self-identification unmistakable.

The central Christ figure is painted in acid greens and oranges against a deep blue-violet garden, the color relationships chosen for emotional impact rather than naturalistic accuracy. The surrounding apostles are sketchily indicated, keeping pictorial focus on the isolated central figure's expressive posture and vivid auburn hair.