# Te burao (The Hibiscus Tree)

- By: Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903)
- Date: 1892
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: 68 × 90.7 cm (26 3/4 × 35 11/16 in.); Framed: 86.4 × 109.3 × 8.9 cm (34 × 43 × 3 1/2 in.)
- Culture: France
- Credit line: Joseph Winterbotham Collection
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/8360)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/604fe021-6008-f666-bce8-456b2fdc9bd4/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Completed early in Paul Gauguin’s first Tahitian sojourn, this landscape shows the artist grappling with representing an unfamiliar environment. Rather than documenting botanical species scientifically, Gauguin focused on the artistic potential of their variegated colors, textures, and forms. The human figure in the distance and the dog roaming through fallen branches activate the landscape and establish a sense of scale.

This is one of thirty-five works that comprise the Winterbotham Collection. Click here to learn more about the collection.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0