Martin Gayford

Why would a dissolute rebel like Paul Gauguin paint a nativity?

Martin Gayford investigates how this splendid Tahitian Madonna came about and why religion was ever-present in Gauguin’s art

issue 12 December 2015
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A young Polynesian woman lies outstretched on sheets of a soft lemon yellow. She is wrapped in deep blue cloth, decorated with a golden star. Beside her bed sits a hooded figure, apparently an older woman, holding a baby. In the background is a huddle of resting cows, suggesting that the setting is a barn or stable.

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