Baby (Nativity Of Tahitian Christ) by Paul Gauguin (Interpretation and Analysis)

Baby (Nativity Of Tahitian Christ)
Source: WikiArt

Paul Gauguin can best be described as a controversial—yet brilliant—artist. While Gauguin was a deeply unpleasant human being (for many reasons), he was also one of the most original and inventive artists of his age. Today, his paintings and sculptures are recognized for their original and expressive character and for Gauguin’s unique approach to color. Gauguin’s work is also remarkable for the mix of cultural themes and ideas that permeate his work.

Gauguin is most famous for the art he executed while living in Tahiti, and, while his understanding of Tahitian culture was limited, his time in French Polynesia made a huge impact on his work. Bé bé (Baby or Nativity Of Tahitian Christ) is a fine example of the way Gauguin used cultural synchronism to create interesting and impactful art.

As the title suggests, the painting is a variation on the traditional Christian nativity scene. Instead of a manger in Bethlehem with shepherds looking on, the viewer is transported to a Tahitian house in which a woman rests on a bed while another woman holds an infant, presumably the Christ child. To the right, an angel with green wings looks on with a serious expression. While the angel and the child are easily identifiable, it is unclear which woman represents the Virgin Mary. Normally, Mary holds the Christ Child in Nativity paintings; however, in Bé bé, it is possible that another woman holds the child while his mother rests on the bed in the background. It is also possible that both women represent the Virgin in different moments of the nativity; the viewer could be seeing the birth and its aftermath on the.

No matter your interpretation, it is undeniable that the composition of the scene is unusual. We can only see the top of the child’s head and neither woman’s face is clear. These strange choices give Gauguin’s painting the feeling of spontaneity, as though the viewer has just entered the house.

Gauguin had a deep philosophical interest in religious and spiritual experience. Through his paintings, he sought answers to life’s big questions, including the meaning of human existence and how humans could experience greater fulfillment and spiritual authenticity. Central to this quest was an idea that there was an underlying universality to all human religions and spiritual experience, a fundamental spiritual truth that Gauguin tried to grasp through art.

Bé bé is a part of this quest, exploring the spiritual power of birth and the creation of new life. Today, anthropologists and historians know that the mother and child is one of the most common and powerful motifs in human history; it is associated with the cycle of life and a symbol of the fertility that is the basis for all human life and experience. Naturally, the emotional and psychological power of the subject evokes a profound response from most people. Knowingly or unknowingly, Gauguin taps into this in Bé bé.

Gauguin clearly found significance and satisfaction in experimenting with religious themes. He tackled many throughout his artistic career, always searching for new ways to experience and understand the spiritual realm.