The Ancestors of Tehamana – Paul Gauguin Art Print

A portrait between two worlds, under the gaze of the gods. Facing us, Tehamana sits very straight in a blue and white striped dress with a lace collar, white flowers in her hair and a woven fan in her hands. Behind her, a small carved idol stands on an ochre wall, while a frieze of golden signs runs across the top of the canvas. Two mangoes rest beside her.

Tehamana (Teha'amana) was the Tahitian girl, then about 13, who lived with Gauguin during his first stay in Tahiti. He painted her in 1893, shortly before leaving for France, dressed in the missionary dress imposed by the colonisers but surrounded by the signs of an older world: the glyphs come from the rongorongo script of Easter Island and the idol mixes Polynesian and Hindu sources. The title means “Tehamana has many parents”, or “The ancestors of Tehamana”.

Why it works on your wall

Intense and mysterious: deep blue, gold and ochre for a study, a library or a living room
A portrait full of symbols: glyphs, idol and fruit that tell the story of Tahiti in the 1890s
Framing tip: a natural oak frame with a white mat, as in our photos, brings out the golden signs

The painting

Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), a key figure of Post-Impressionism, left Paris for Tahiti in 1891, seeking a simpler, “primitive” world. His bold colours and simplified forms had a lasting influence on modern art, from the Nabis to Matisse. The Ancestors of Tehamana is in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist: Paul Gauguin (1848–1903)
Date: 1893
Technique: oil on jute canvas
Movement: Post-Impressionism, Synthetism
Original: Art Institute of Chicago

Your print

Colours restored from a high-definition scan of the original
Printed in Europe on thick archival matte paper, FSC certified
From A4 to A0, plus 40×60, 50×70, 60×90 and 70×100 cm and 12×18 to 27×40 inch sizes, all made for standard frames
Free shipping, no minimum order. Shipped rolled in a sturdy tube

Pair it with Gauguin’s Her Name Is Vairaumati or The Girl with a Fan, or explore our Paul Gauguin posters.

Specifications

CUSTOMIZATION :

all our posters can be customized in the margins - just ask us in the chat or by using the contact form. Posters can be printed full page, with a small margin, or with a thicker margin to give a mat effect.

How we make our prints: paper, inks and printing

SIZES : Our posters are printed in inches or in centimeters. These systems are to be preferred according to the country in which you live in order to find more easily the corresponding frames. More information about size options.

SPECIFICATIONS : Premium mat art paper, Weather-resistant. The paper mill, the pulp used to make the paper and the paper itself are all certified by the Forest Stewardship Council®.