I n 1897. two years after returning to the South Seas from an unhappy sojourn
in France,
Gauguin was again
plagued by poverty and disease and decided on the ultimate escape: suicide. But his ideas in
one
more than 12
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lent"**; V. ui
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last,
feet
first
he wished to
great painting.
wide
It is
sum up
his largest
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and perhaps his
finest
work.
Here
from
is
his
own
description of the picture, which reads
"To the right, women. Two
right to left, in the Oriental fashion.
below, a sleeping baby and three seated
figures dressed in purple confide their thoughts to each
other.
An enormous
[seated] figure
violates perspective, raises
its
arm
which intentionally
in the air
and looks
in