Their cool colors make a striking contrast with the hotter, fiery sun-like stars.
The work does not depict the human form or an emotional scene, but the artist's emotion is palpably present in the landscape. A desolate, lonely tree stands in the foreground. Although it is closest to the viewer it is the least distinct of all of the representational objects of the work. It seems to point like a finger to the sky. The human presence is everywhere in this work, even though the human form is absent, and every element of the sky is clearly from a particular point-of-view.
Paul Gauguin's "Manhana no Atua" does show the human form, most prominently three reclining women dangling their feet in the water. The lush nature of the tropics is shown by the unreal warmth of the colors. Pinks dominate the landscape, making the colors of the women's tanned flesh even starker. The water is made up of impossible shades of yellows and greens that reflect the light and...
In the background, clothed women and a shrine adorn the background. This work clearly does have a story or a narrative, as it seems to show a native village, its system of survival and worship, and the lazy, gentle course of the day, as women are seen walking and bathing. However, the work clearly conveys the artist's affection for this apparently simpler, primitive lifestyle. The primary emotion of the work is desire, not simply sexual desire, but reverence for a lost way of life. The translation of the title is "The Day of the Gods," which suggests that Gauguin thinks that such a lifestyle depicted in the painting is more true and pure, more Eden-like than the one most people live outside of the setting. The lack of reality of the water and the simplicity of the figures seems beautiful because there is nothing to disturb the harmony of the scene.
Works Cited
Stokstad, Marilyn. (2005). Art History. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
