Mata mua

PAUL GAUGUIN - "Mata Mua (in olden times)", 1892 - oil on canvas, 91-69 cm. - Madrid, Thyssen Museum - view high resolution image

Gauguin travelled to the tropics searching an artistic redemption, a comeback to the 'primitive' and the 'exotic' that could help him to find a way in which his Art could be 'purified'. "Mata Mua (in olden times)" is a powerful and fascinating composition divided in two parts by a giant tree that majestically stands over a red and purple river. The two women at the right represent the present of Tahiti, while the group of women in front of a big statue of an idol represent the past, the "primitive" Tahitian way of life.