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Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? - Definition and Overview |
| Related Words: Acting, Active, Activity, Affluent, Ambulatory, Annihilation, Axial, Back, Bad, Bane, Blackout, Blocking, Common, Commutation |
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Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (original French
title: D'où venons-nous? Que faisons-nous? Où allons-nous?) is Paul Gauguin's most famous work.
The 1897 painting, created in Tahiti, is almost five feet (1.5 m) high and over twelve feet (3.60 m) long. Gauguin indicated that the painting should be read from right to left, with the three major figure groups illustrating the questions posed in the title. The three women with a child represent the beginning of life; the middle group symbolizes the daily existence of young adulthood; and in the final group, according to the artist, "an old woman approaching death appears reconciled and resigned to her thoughts"; at her feet "a strange white bird. . . represents the futility of words".
See also: Meaning of life, The Scream
 Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
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