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Camilla Satte
7/12/2017
MUSEUM EXPLORATION ASSIGNMENT

The 1890s have been a tragic period for Paul Gauguin, a period of heavy losses.
Especially, the painter irreconcilably experienced the death of his beloved and only daughter.
In 1891, Gauguin left France for Tahiti, seeking in the South Seas a society that was simpler
and more elemental, and during this critical period of his life Gauguins mental state was
shaken and he attempted to commit suicide, but before he decided to create a large-scale
painting Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? The artist believed
that this painting supposed to be his masterpiece and the summation of his ideas (Museum of
Fine Arts).
Even before coming to Tahiti the search for mysterious meaning of life brought
Gauguin closer to symbolism (Maurer). The painting reflects deep philosophical thoughts and
emotional experiences of the artist about the meaning of human existence and the destiny of
man. Gauguin noted that the plot of the canvas defines from right to left, step by step revealing
its meaning the movement of human life from birth to the death.
Three questions from the title are embodied as three independent ideas on a single
canvas. On the background is depicted the shore of a mysterious forest with its lush vegetation,
where a stream flows, just like life itself whose flow is swift and elusive, and the story-telling
figures are coming through this environment. All figures bear a complex symbolic education
with hidden meanings.
The first part of the painting symbolizes the beginning of life; it is framed by the image
of three women, accompanied with a black dog, which is guarding the child. There is a small
group of people united in one whole and sleeping baby. The sleeping baby symbolizes the soul
before it comes to the world, because he believed that human souls are from the infantile bliss
in heaven (Maurer).
In the central part of the canvas there is the figure of a young man tearing fruit from
the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, it is a symbol of the awakening of mans desire to
comprehend the mysteries of the universe (Maurer 126). As a theosophist, Gauguin believed
that the attraction to the discovery of the secrets of the world order was inherent in human from
the very beginning. Eventually in someone it awakens, but in others it does not.
On the left part the artist gives the answer on the first question, where are we going?
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He depicted near to death an old woman symbolizing that humans body is doomed to perish
(Gardner 704). She is absorbed in thoughts about her life, the whole existence and hopeless life
ending. By drawing the blue idol statue in the background of the picture, the artist shares an
idea that humans life is not ending after death (Silverman). He believed in existence of higher
worlds and infinite life of a soul.
Before moving to Tahiti his artworks were painted with smaller and more detailed
brushstrokes, like in Vincent van Gogh or Paul Cezanne paintings (Gardner 700-709). Even
though for that period of time Van Gogh painted with quite noticeably not small brushstrokes,
as he disliked that almost invisible tiny brushstrokes of Cezanne, but later Gauguin discovered
for himself different way to represent colors. In Tahiti, Gauguin tried different artistic
techniques that would allow him to convey the peculiar color of Polynesia, which is completely
different from European culture and rhythm of life. Therefore, he finally gained his own style
to represent the juicy beauty of tropical nature and uncorrupted by civilization people, the artist
embodied the utopian dream of an earthly paradise and humans life in harmony with nature.
Life in Tahiti led him to create paintings where the lights and shadows are painted with
more intense volumes bringing rhythmic juxtaposition of individual planes of pure colors,
which completely filling the forms of objects and playing a leading role in creating the
emotional and psychological state of the image (Gardner 705). In the painting, the use of vivid
colors creates the illusion of sunlight even if the sun and sky are absent in the image. Also, the
style format of the painting resembles frescos painted on a gold background; the golden yellow
upper corners of the canvas emphasize this effect.
The canvas is metaphorical and has a number of possible interpretations. Other images
defined as ways to understand laws of mans earthly existence, his anxiety and hope. This
painting, like any philosophical meditation, turned out to be an alarming, but still a beautiful
metaphor. Everything from compositional construction to the use colors is anxious and poetic.
Gauguins deeply figurative meanings and clear use of colors and thick strokes, which is the
principle of impressionism, and at the same time sought to convey an emotional force referring
the painting to the expressionist and postimpressionist style with abundant use of symbolism.