No te aha oe riri (Why Are You Angry?)

In this large-scale canvas, one of several Paul Gauguin sent back to France in 1897, women of varying ages appear to go about daily life within a colorful, stylized outdoor environment. Like much of the artist’s work, this painting combines observed detail with artistic fantasy to create a dreamlike scene whose narrative resists simple interpretation. The work’s deliberately provocative title enhances this effect, leaving us to wonder if the “you” refers to someone in the painting or to the viewer.