Listen to this article
0:00 / 3:12 · Read by ArtLogia
Two young Tahitian women sit on the ground in a sunlit landscape, one in a traditional pareo with a flower behind her ear, the other behind her in a high-necked missionary dress. Painted in 1892, Paul Gauguin's Nafea Faa Ipoipo, When Will You Marry?, was reportedly sold in 2015 for about 210 million dollars.
In this article
Gauguin in Tahiti
In 1891 Paul Gauguin left France for Tahiti, hoping to find an unspoiled paradise far from European civilisation. He found instead a colony already transformed by French rule and Christian missionaries. His paintings of Tahitian women mixed observation, fantasy and nostalgia for a culture he felt was disappearing.
He painted Nafea Faa Ipoipo, Tahitian for When Will You Marry?, in 1892. He wrote the title in Tahitian on the lower left of the canvas.
Two women, two worlds
In the foreground, a young woman sits on the ground in a white blouse and red pareo, a white flower tucked behind her ear. In Tahitian custom, a flower worn behind the ear could signal that a young woman was looking for a husband, which may explain the title.
Detail 1
The flower behind the ear
The young woman in front wears a white flower behind her ear, which in Tahiti could signal she was ready to marry.
Behind her sits a second woman in a high-necked pink dress of the type imposed by missionaries, her face serious and her hand raised in a gesture that some compare to Buddhist or Indian sculpture. The two women may represent traditional and Westernised Tahiti, side by side.
Detail 2The woman in the missionary dress
The woman behind wears a high-necked pink dress introduced by missionaries. Her calm face and raised hand give her a dignified, almost sacred presence.
The landscape
Behind the women stretches a landscape of fields, a stream, figures and blue mountains, painted in flat areas of bold colour: yellow, green, orange and blue. Gauguin did not try to imitate nature but to create harmony and emotion through colour.
Detail 3Blue mountains
Blue mountains rise behind the fields, painted in flat areas of colour beneath a pale sky.
Detail 4Figures in the fields
Small figures walk in the background among the yellow and green fields, adding depth to the scene.
A record sale
For decades the painting belonged to the family of the Swiss collector Rudolf Staechelin and was on long-term loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel. In 2015 it was reported to have been sold privately for about 210 million dollars, one of the highest prices ever paid for a painting, to a buyer widely reported to be from Qatar. The painting measures about 101 by 77 centimetres and is now in a private collection.
Gauguin's vision of Tahiti
Gauguin's Tahitian paintings present an image of the island that is part reality, part dream. He was disappointed to find a colonial society, but he painted the women of Tahiti in a timeless landscape of bright colours, sometimes adding gods and legends he learned from books. Modern critics have questioned his relationships with very young Tahitian women and his colonial outlook, and these debates are now part of how museums present his work. At the same time, his bold use of flat, saturated colour, his simplified forms and his search for a non-European art profoundly influenced modern painting, from Matisse to the Expressionists. When Will You Marry? is one of the most striking examples of this style.
Own a hand-painted copy
When Will You Marry?
Painted by hand in oil on canvas, any size. Free worldwide shipping.
From $299 — Make it yours.Frequently asked questions
What does Nafea Faa Ipoipo mean?
It is Tahitian for "When will you marry?", the title Gauguin wrote on the painting.
What does the flower behind her ear mean?
In Tahitian custom, a flower worn behind the ear could signal that a young woman was looking for a husband.
How much did When Will You Marry? sell for?
It was reported to have been sold privately in 2015 for about 210 million dollars.
Where is When Will You Marry?
It is in a private collection; it was long on loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel.
Sources and further reading
- Kunstmuseum Basel, records of the Staechelin collection loan
- Paul Gauguin, Noa Noa (1901)
- Stephen F. Eisenman, Gauguin's Skirt (1997)
