Stillleben mit Vase und Blumen

A Vase of Flowers

A bunch of tropical flowers, arranged to highlight their contrasting colours, have been placed in a plain vase. Several petals have fallen onto the brown bench below. The golden background gives this simple image a dreamlike atmosphere. It was a product of what Gauguin called his 'exuberant imagination', for Tahiti was 'not really a land of flowers'.