The Loss of Virginity

Despite depicting a Breton scene, with the figures in the background often interpreted as ironically representing a wedding party, the painting was produced in Paris. Gauguin used his 20-year-old mistress, Juliette Huet, who was left pregnant with his child when he embarked for Tahiti. The clear inspiration for the reclining female nude was Manet's "Olympia," which had recently been acquired by the French state.

This work represents a deliberate attempt at Symbolist painting, aimed at appealing to the literary circles that were Gauguin's primary supporters during that period. Consequently, the painting is somewhat heavy-handed in its use of symbolism. Instead of creating an ambiance, Gauguin has relied on a series of easily recognizable visual clues. For instance, the fox, with its hand on the woman's breast, conveys a sense of both demonism and sensuality, while the red-tipped cyclamen alludes to the girl's recent loss of virginity.