''Nave Nave Mahana'' ( Tahitian: ''Delicious day'') was made in 1896 by

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

. It is kept in the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon. The painting became part of the collections of the Lyon Museum in 1913.

History

In 1891, Gauguin sailed to

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

to escape the evils of European civilization and "everything that is artificial and conventional". To his disappointment, Polynesia was already tainted by European influences when he first arrived in his long-dreamed-of paradise. His works of that period are full of quasi-religious symbolism and an exoticized view of the inhabitants of Polynesia. In 1896, he painted ''Nave Nave Mahana'' in Tahiti after he came back from a short stay in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The painting was exhibited at the Grand Palais in Paris as part of the Gauguin the Alchemist exhibition which was held from October 11, 2017 to January 22, 2018.

Subject

A group of mysterious young women seem to be gathering fruit from the branches of plants. Their feet are solidly anchored on the red ground. Behind them, we can see a yellow sky. Frozen, distant, silent, with eyes cast down and solemn faces, the figures are perhaps a revealing indication of the artist's isolation and ill health at the time of painting.

Notes and references

1896 paintings Paintings by Paul Gauguin Paintings in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon {{19C-painting-stub