Tehamana Has Many Ancestors (Merahi metua no Tehamana) by Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin's 1893 work Tehamana Has Many Ancestors (Merahi metua no Tehamana) emerged from Gauguin's first journey to Tahiti in June 1891.

tehamana has many ancestors merahi metua no tehamana by paul gauguin
Tehamana Has Many Ancestors (Merahi metua no
Tehamana) by Paul Gauguin (oil on canvas, 30 x
21-3/8 inches) can be found at The Art Institute of Chicago.

Gauguin was disappointed that the primitive paradise that he sought was being subsumed by Western influence. The young woman in Tehamana Has Many Ancestors (Merahi metua no Tehamana) became Gauguin's companion, and he painted Tehamana in the modest "Mother Hubbard" dress that was introduced to Tahitian women by missionaries. Nevertheless, the plaited fan and evocative images Gauguin placed on the wall vividly portray the perseverance of Tehamana's ancient heritage.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Debra N. Mancoff, Ph.D., is an art historian and lecturer and the author of numerous books on nineteenth-century European and American paintings. She is a scholar in residence at the Newberry Library and an adjunct associate professor and adjunct lecturer at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.