Arearea no varua ino (The Amusement of the Evil Spirit)

Painted by Paul Gauguin in 1894, this scene comes from his time spent in Tahiti, where he chased a dream of escaping European life and finding something simpler and more spiritual. Two women rest in the foreground, one sitting upright in a deep blue garment, the other curled up on a pink shore. Behind them, the title gives a clue to a hidden mood. The "evil spirit" is the dark, watchful figure standing on the left, a presence drawn from the local beliefs and legends Gauguin was fascinated by, though he often mixed up or invented these stories to suit his own vision.

The look of the painting is pure Gauguin. He used flat areas of bold color, thick outlines, and made no real effort to copy nature exactly. The grass is yellow, the sand is bright pink, and shadows barely exist. This style, sometimes called Post-Impressionism or Synthetism, was about feeling and symbolism rather than realism. It is worth knowing that Gauguin's romantic ideas about Tahiti were often more fantasy than truth, and his time there has been viewed more critically over the years. Still, the dreamy color and quiet stillness here show why his work changed the direction of modern art.