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Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
Paul Gauguin · Post-Impressionism & Neo-Impressionism
- Artist
- Paul Gauguin (1848–1903)
- Date
- 1897–1898
- Dimensions
- 139.1 x 374.6 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, United States
Gauguin’s largest painting is a vast meditation on human existence, painted in Tahiti at a time of illness, poverty and grief after the death of his daughter. The title is written in French in the upper left corner.
A closer look
The picture is meant to be read from right to left. On the right, a sleeping baby and three seated women represent the beginning of life. In the centre, a young figure picks fruit, recalling Eve in paradise, surrounded by figures of daily life. On the left, an old woman crouches close to death, while a strange white bird at her feet stands, Gauguin said, for “the futility of words”. Behind, a blue idol suggests the world beyond. Gauguin intended it as his testament; after finishing it he attempted suicide.
History of the painting
Gauguin sent the huge canvas to Paris, where his dealer Ambroise Vollard exhibited it in 1898 and later bought it. After passing through French and Norwegian collections, it was acquired in 1936 by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, one of the boldest purchases of modern art by an American museum at the time. It is now regarded as Gauguin's artistic testament and one of the museum's greatest treasures.
More by Paul Gauguin
In this gallery
When Will You Marry? (Nafea Faa Ipoipo)
Vision after the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel)
Arearea (Joyfulness)
The Yellow Christ
Spirit of the Dead Watching (Manaò tupapaú)