This painting was to be one of the last, if not the last, for Paul Gauguin. He left the art world of Paris for the French Polynesian islands in 1891. In 1901, Gauguin went to Hiva Oa, the largest and most fertile of the Marquesas Islands. As in his other Tahitian works, the nature one meets in this painting is archaic and emphasises the original connection between man, animal and nature. The human habitation visible in the left-hand corner blends in perfectly with the decorative landscape. This painting came to Finland as early as 1908 as an acquisition into Ateneum's collections, funded by the Antell Board of Trustees. However, it is only recently that its impact on Finnish artists has been highlighted.