La Orana Maria

Date: 1871
Medium: oil on canvas

La orana Maria is an 1871 oil on canvas painting by Paul Gauguin. It is one of the earliest works in his Tahitian period. Before embarking on a series of paintings inspired by Polynesian religious beliefs, Gauguin devoted this first large Tahitian canvas to a Christian theme, describing it in a letter of March 1872: An angel with yellow wings reveals Mary and Jesus to two Tahitian women.

We can notice the mountain background, flowering trees and emerald green plants that are overgrown throughout the picture. I am rather satisfied with it, Gauguin mentioned at the end of the letter.

Gauguin painted picture La Orana Maria in 1871. Prevailing color of this fine art print is vivid and its shape is portrait. This image is printed on demand - you can choose material, size and finishing.

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). French painter and a leading figure of Postimpressionism. His experiments with colour strongly influenced modern art of the early 20th century. As one of the first, he subscribed to primitivism: simplified and exaggerated contours of the body, strong and contrasting colours. This artistic style was partly due his admiration for the art of the primitive cultures of Africa, Micronesia and North American Indians. Gauguin himself had the opportunity to experience life on Tahiti, where he resided from 1891 until his death. It was in Polynesia that he created his most famous paintings.