Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
Match for you
Rate 5 more paintings to see how well this one matches your taste.
Where to see it
Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston
About the painting
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (French: D'où venons-nous ? Que sommes-nous ? Où allons-nous ?) is an 1897–98 painting by French artist Paul Gauguin. The painting was created in Tahiti and is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. Viewed as a masterpiece by Gauguin, the painting is considered "a philosophical work comparable to the themes of the Gospels".
Read more
The painting is notable for its enigmatic subject and atmosphere. Some scholars have attributed these qualities to personal conflicts that Gauguin experienced while creating this artwork. It is an accentuation of Gauguin's trailblazing Post-Impressionistic style.
Frizeau sold the painting around 1913 to Galerie Barbazanges, which sold it before 1920 to the Norwegian ship owner and art collector Jørgen Breder Stang. He sold the painting via Alfred Gold in 1935, and it was bought by the Marie Harriman Gallery in New York City in 1936. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, acquired it from the Marie Harriman Gallery on 16 April 1936.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Similar works
Image: Paul Gauguin; Wikimedia Commons · public domain