Gauguin and Tahitian Inspiration and Spirituality

The artwork that I chose to write about the form, content, and function is Day of the God

(Mahana no Atua), created in 1894 by Paul Gauguin in Paris after Gauguin had returned from

Tahiti. It is oil on canvas, 26 7/8 x 36 inches.

This piece of artwork depicts a group of women in an island setting. In the upper right

portion of the painting, there are two women carrying a large tray above their heads. They are

both dressed in white, ankle length strapless dresses. Both women have long, black hair and the

women closer to the center of the painting seems to have her hair in a low ponytail. They are

standing on a grassy embankment of green. In front of them is a pink embankment. There is a

thin strip of yellow sandy beach that leads to the ocean behind them. In the background there is

a wave with a white crest and a group of palm trees. The sky above the two ladies is partly

cloudy with a vibrant blue peeking out from behind the white and grey cloud.

In the upper center portion of the painting, there is a large figure standing on top of a

brown platform surrounded by a group of rocks. The ocean looms behind the figure and the pink

and purple embankment is in front of the figure. This figure has brownish grey skin and is

wearing a blue codpiece with brown trim on the top. There is a blue skirt attached to the back

portion of the codpiece, from hip to hip. This skirt seems to extend longer than the elevated

platform the figure stands on. This figure has large, stony facial features. The black hair of this

figure is parted in the middle and there is a large blue moon directly behind the head. This figure

is standing erect with both arms curved out at the elbows away from the body with wrists tilted

so that the hands are parallel to the torso and the palms are facing away from the torso. There is

a canopy of some sort that extends from palm to palm above the head of the figure. It is

brownish-grey (slightly darker than the body of the figure) and has a feathery or topiary-like

Sitting behind the figure’s left is a woman playing a fluted instrument. She is topless and

wearing a white skirt with her brownish-blond hair in two low braids that reach her shoulders.

There are two women embracing on the rocks to the rear right of the figure. The woman facing

us is topless with dark brown hair and she is holding the other woman with brown hair and a

white sleeveless with her right arm pulled close to her bosom.

The upper right portion of the painting depicts two women dancing on the embankment

near the figure, one facing outward and the other woman facing inward. They are holding their

red sleeveless dresses at their thigh area and are bending slightly forward. The red dresses have

some decoration near the left hip and near the bottom of the ankle area. Both women have two

white flowers pinned to their temple area of their black hair. The woman who has her back

turned has a long ponytail tied with a white ribbon-type object. There is a woman behind the

two dancers with long brown hair and a white skirt. She is topless and has her hands folded at

her chest. In the background of the right upper portion we see a winding beach with three large,

bluish-grey mountains behind it. There is a person riding some type of equestrian on the beach.

There is a long narrow boat with three people nearing the shore line. Behind that is a brown

house with a door. There are several thin clouds in the sky. They vary in color from white to

rosy to orange to purplish-grey. There are a few white waves in the blue ocean. The color of the

ocean is varying shades of bright blues.

The bottom right portion of the painting depicts a nude woman curled up in the fetal

position with her back away from the viewer. Her right hand is covering her face. She has dark

hair and it is unclear if her hair is long but tucked underneath her body or is short. The woman is

lying on the pink embankment near the edge of a colorful lake or pond. The embankment has a

few small areas of greenery and what appears to be a rippled area. The water is very vibrant,

containing swirled areas of purple and blue amongst orange and red expanses.

In the lower center of the painting is a nude woman sitting with her feet in the water. She

has her knees bent and has an orange-red scarf covering her lower private area. She is topless

and is stroking her long black hair with her left hand. Her right hand is positioned near her left

elbow. Her head is tilted to the lower left. She is looking directly at the viewer. She has red lips

and dark eyes. Her bosoms are small but perky and she looks young but her actual age is

unclear. There is a green shrub directly behind her. The large figure on the rocks is directly

behind this woman. The water is again vibrant, with blues, oranges, swirls of cream and green

and yellow, and circle of pink and red.

In the right lower portion of the painting, there is a nude woman lying in the near fetal

position facing us. She is resting her head on her hands and her legs are bent and brought up to

waist level. Her head is facing away from the center of the painting. Her eyes are open and she

is looking off to the left. Her toes are in the water. The water is very colorful again and contains

circles of dark blues, red ripples and light blue and green ripples.

There is a combination of lines used in this painting. The figures have actual lines that

are curved and created by an edge. The water and embankment have some curving lines and

ragged, irregular edges that are more boldly outlined. The shapes of the people are organic and

slightly three-dimensional. The left side of the water has a slight three-dimensional quality but

the right side of the water is very flat and two-dimensional. There is a geometric, abstract

quality to the water and embankment. The color is very vibrant and jarring. The texture is very

flat, with visible vertical lines seen in the painting. There is a sense of perspective since the

mountains diminish in size as do the women, but it is not to scale nor is it linear.

Looking deeper at the content of the painting, my interpretation of this painting is that a

group of tribal women are depicted living in a warmer climate on an island. The figure in the

back is a statue of a Goddess. The women on the left are carrying an offering of some food or

commodity to the Goddess as a part of worshipping ceremony. The woman on the rocks is

playing a flute for a ceremonial song, and the dancing women are doing a dance for the Goddess.

The three women lying on the bank of the river or pond area do not seem to be a part of

the celebration. The woman in the very front seems to be a focal point of the painting. She is

looking out at the viewer with a tilted head in a coy but knowing way. The person to the left of

her looks very relaxed with a blank stare. The person to the right of her is curled into a tight fetal

position. You cannot see the expression of this woman but there is a sense of tenseness.

The pond or river area seems vibrant and luminous with a very abstract impressionistic

quality. It seems almost magical. There is an air of mystery and intrigue to it. There is little

cohesion or flow to the color scheme of the pond. It seems brighter and more textural on the left

side of the painting. There is no empty space in the painting; every area is covered.

Day of the God does reflect some of the ideas that were important to Tahitian society at

the time the artwork was made: the importance of women and the beauty of the island.

However, Gauguin’s painting tends have references to an idealized version of the island that

reflects his wish for an untouched, non-westernized civilization still practicing ancient religions.

Tahiti in the 1890s was going through a process of westernization from France and

missionaries wanting to spread Catholic and Protestant beliefs. According to Harmon,

“Tahiti was packed with low-level French bureaucrats. Western diseases had reduced the local

population from 150,000 to about 8,000 in a little over a century. Missionaries had destroyed the

island's temples, banned native dancing and drumming, and had turned thumbs down on the

practice of male tattooing”. 1 The island was losing its native mythology. Additionally, King

Pomare died shortly after Gaugin’s arrival, dashing his wish for an untouched, naïve, primitive

The village away from the capitol Papeete where Gauguin settled was called Mataiea. It

was a perfect example of this colonization. According to Dorra, “half the population was

Catholic, a very large proportion in a largely protestant territory, and there was a French school

run by nuns, so that part of the population spoke French.” 3 Prior to the westernization of Tahiti,

the natives believed in mythology and worshipped Gods (called tupapau) and Goddesses. The

Areoi were responsible for passing down the oral traditions of these myths. 4 Unfortunately,

many of the old traditions had been suppressed by these newcomers, and ancient religious

artifacts had either been destroyed by missionaries or eroded from the moist, humid, hot climate. 5

1 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=118&sid=79061fbb-41c4- 434f-8b59-

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2 GAugin Life-Art- Inspiration p 147

3 The Symbolism of Paul Gaugin, Henri Dorra p 164

4 Gauguin maker of myth p137

5 The Symbolism of Paul Gauguin, Henri Dorra p 167

Women were prominent in Tahitian society. They took care of household affairs and

childcare. They participated in village affairs and religious rituals. Women were allowed to rule

as monarchs. The women of Tahiti had a lot of rights that other women in western countries did

not. According to Elliston, “the political, social, and household power of women has been,

compared with many other societies, close to the power and authority of men.” 6 This

prominence can be seen in the painting. The women are offering gifts to the goddess,

performing dances, and bathing in the water.

Additionally, Tahitians enjoyed many individual freedoms, especially sexually. They

had a mutual respect and tolerance for one another. Because of this, birth and children were

celebrated and many people in the community raised children communally. Gauguin wrote in a

letter that “the greatest gift one can make is a child!” 7 The sexuality might be expressed by the

naked and topless bodies of the women in the painting.

Gauguin moved to Tahiti in 1891 “to escape the constructions of European society” and

find some creative and personal freedom. 8 He obtained a grant from the French government to

paint and study the culture. When he arrived to the capital Papeete he was dismayed to find it

6 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=79061fbb-41c4- 434f-8b59-

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7 The Symbolism of Paul Gaugin, Henri Dorra, p 165

8 http://www.biography.com/people/paul-gauguin- 9307741

very westernized with little Tahitian culture left. Instead of native garb, the women were

wearing the cotton dresses seen in France. Most of the islands native religious and spiritual

practices were banned here. Gauguin decided to move to Mateiea, a small village away from the

capital where the women were still “noble savages” and were untamed. 9 It was here that

Gauguin found inspiration for many of his later paintings from the women and culture of Tahiti.

http://academics.smcvt.edu/awerbel/survey%20of%20art%20history%20ii/postimpressionism.ht

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=79061fbb-41c4- 434f-8b59-

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%3d#db=nfh&AN=7EH34697783

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Paul_Gauguin.aspx

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=79061fbb-41c4- 434f-8b59-

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3d#db=f5h&AN=12977417

http://www.biography.com/people/paul-gauguin- 9307741

http://www.theartwolf.com/gauguin_tropics.htm

9 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=118&sid=79061fbb-41c4- 434f-8b59-

295103d894c8%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=1857326

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=48&hid=13&sid=79061fbb-41c4- 434f-8b59-

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