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Arearea (Joyfulness)
Paul Gauguin · Post-Impressionism & Neo-Impressionism
- Artist
- Paul Gauguin (1848–1903)
- Date
- 1892
- Dimensions
- 75 x 94 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France
Arearea, a Tahitian word meaning “joyfulness” or “amusement”, shows two Tahitian women sitting under a tree, one playing a flute, while a red dog sniffs the ground in the foreground. In the background, women worship before a large idol.
A closer look
Gauguin painted the scene during his first stay in Tahiti, where he hoped to find an unspoiled paradise. The picture is built from flat, glowing areas of colour: orange ground, yellow-green grass, blue and violet shadows. The colours do not imitate nature but create a dreamy, decorative harmony. The idol and the ritual dance in the background are largely Gauguin’s own invention, a mix of Polynesian, Asian and Egyptian sources that expresses his idea of an ancient, sacred world.
More by Paul Gauguin
In this gallery
When Will You Marry? (Nafea Faa Ipoipo)
Vision after the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel)
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
The Yellow Christ
Spirit of the Dead Watching (Manaò tupapaú)