Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (1897–1898) is one of Paul Gauguin’s most ambitious and symbolic works, painted during his stay in Tahiti. The painting tackles universal themes such as birth, life and death, through a series of female and male figures set in a stylised tropical landscape. In the foreground are infants and children symbolising birth and innocence, while in the centre the adult figures represent life and its experiences, and in the background meditative elderly figures evoke death and reflection on existence.
Gauguin uses saturated colours, flat areas of colour and horizontal compositions to create a visual narrative of philosophical scope. The work is a manifesto of his Symbolist vision, in which Polynesia becomes an ideal place to explore the great existential questions, fusing myth, spirituality and visual poetry.
Unique quality material
Print on handmade Amalfi paper Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in) With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges Frame: light brown beech wood and wood pulp, handmade
How an Amalfi art print is made, what the frame is like, what museum glass is, how long shipping takes, and how returns work: we’ve gathered all the answers on a single page.
