Paul Gauguin: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?

This painting is called Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?. It was created in 1897 - 1898. It was created in Tahiti and now resides in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. Gauguin wanted the painting to be read from right to left. There are 3 major figure groups that represent the questions in the title. The 3 women with the child represent the beginning of life, the middle group represents the daily existence of young adulthood, and the last group is an old woman approaching death. The blue idol in the background apparently represents what Gauguin described as "the beyond" Gauguin believed that this canvas surpassed all of his previous ones and he believed he would never do anything better, or anything like it.