Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? _{(Paul Gauguin, Post-impressionism)}

These three questions Where Do We Come From? What Art We? Where Are We Going? are a series of propositional thinking that all the scientists, philosopher and artists are pursuing all the time, including Gauguin. This painting is Gauguin's last and most important artwork of his whole career. It contains Gauguin's aesthetic pursuit which he pursues all his life. It is the comprehensive impression of Gauguin's artistic ideas and his life on the Tahiti Island.

At the time of painting this artwork, Gauguin was reduced from a proud and crazy artist to a poor and ill painter. Moreover, when he got the news that his beloved daughter just passed away, he no longer had the courage to continue to live. In a state of high fever, Gauguin spent a whole month painting this work, which is full of painful thinking.

In Gauguin's letter to his friend, he said, "This painting outperforms any of my painting in the past......I put all the strength of my whole life into it. It contains misery feelings and shows my current conditions. I used painful passion and clear illusion to painting it."

Setting in the Tahiti Island, this painting shows the human trilogy from birth to death. The infant on the right stone cliff represents the beginning of life. In the middle, the young boy who is picking the fruit is Adam, the one who gets the Fruit of Wisdom. This represents that humans are exploring the unknown world. On his lower left, there is a girl who is dressed properly and eating the apple, which represents the process of getting civilized. On the left side of the painting, there is an old and weak man crouching in the corner, with his hands covering the face, which represents the final stage of life. The young and robust girl besides the old man even makes the end of life more misery. The blue stone statue on the top of this painting makes the whole picture mysterious and creepy. Besides, other objects depicted, including trees, flowers, grass, fruits, all represent the passing of time and the sadness of life disappearing momentarily.

Gauguin's Other Works