Vairumati

1891–1901 · Virkested

Tahiti

February – April 1895

Failed Auction and the Oviri Scandal

In February 1895 Gauguin tried to repeat the Hôtel Drouot auction, but without success; in April he submitted the large ceramic sculpture Oviri to the salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, whose reception caused a scandal, and wrote an indignant letter on the state of modern ceramics in Le Soir.

28 June 1895

Final Departure for Oceania

On 28 June 1895 Gauguin sailed once more for Tahiti — Eugène Carrière arranged cheap passage for him — arriving in September; he never saw Europe again. He spent the next six years mostly near Papeete, building a spacious house at Punaauia.

April 1897

News of the Death of His Daughter Aline

In April 1897 Gauguin received news that his beloved daughter Aline had died of pneumonia; the same month he learned that he had to vacate his house, and, taking out a bank loan for a new one, by the end of the year he was on the brink of ruin and despair.

c. 1898

Suicide Attempt

After finishing Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, Gauguin attempted suicide by taking arsenic, but the dose proved too large, and a violent fit of vomiting saved his life.

1899

Birth of a Son by Pahura

In 1899 the artist's Tahitian lover Pahura bore him a son; the painting Women by the Sea (Maternity) is associated with this event.