Te Fare Amu (The House for Eating), 1895 or 1897, Part 1

When Paul Gauguin returned to Tahiti for his second stay, in 1895, he initially lived in a native dwelling; two years later, he had a Tahitian-style house built. He sculpted panels for both residences, and this panel was likely carved for one of them. While its original placement is not clear, the arrangement was probably something akin to the one in his later residence in the Marquesas. There, similar carved panels framed the entrance, in a design indebted to the carved lintels of local Maori houses. By designing and hand-making decorative works for his homes, Gauguin sought to realize his dream of integrating art into the fabric of daily life.