Triumph of Gauguin the Artist
In the end, if we are to give equal weight to Gauguin’s artwork and his written word, then perhaps Gauguin’s true feelings on the influence of Christian missionaries in Tahiti at the turn of the twentieth century would never be a known certainty. Obviously his artistic works and his writings contradict each other in their depictions of Christianity in Tahiti, with his words relaying the opinion that Christianity was a blemish on an otherwise picturesque Tahiti and his paintings illustrating a Tahiti that was made more beautiful by the presence of Christian symbolism. Thus, the question remains: which one should we believe? Did Gauguin’s true feelings show in his harmonious artwork or in his vengeful written commentary? This would be difficult to say were it not for Gauguin’s own views on his artwork. He considered artwork his calling and himself a martyr for the cause of art, as he described in a letter he wrote to his wife in March of 1892: “I am indeed a great artist…I am a great artist, and I know it. It is because I am what I am that I have to endure so much suffering” (qtd. Denvir 65). This passage show that Gauguin clearly put great stock in his art, giving his painting greater emphasis than he put on his written opinion. Therefore, if Gauguin has more faith in himself as an artist, than we, too, should more highly value the opinion depicted on canvas than in words. He went on to say that “the center of my art world is in my head, not anywhere else, and I am strong because I am never sidetracked by others and I do what is inside me” (qtd. Denvir 65). In his own words, Gauguin painted what was in his head. His opinions were what ended up on his harmonious canvases. Gauguin the artist might have struggled with Gauguin the writer in terms of his own opinion on Christianity in Tahiti, but in the end, when we look at Gauguin’s art in the context of his words, we are able to see that it is his artwork that more truly represents how he felt about Christianity in Tahiti. In Gauguin’s paintings, we see a Christian influence that enhanced the exotic Tahitian world. In this way, Tahiti became Gauguin’s personal Garden of Eden because of the Christian influences, not in spite of them.