When Will You Marry?, Paul Gauguin (1892)
The front and middle ground are built up in areas of green, yellow and blue. A traditionally dressed young woman has settled on the threshold between the front and middle ground. Richard Field suggests the white tiare flower behind her left ear indicates she is seeking a husband.[7][8][9][a] Behind her a second figure in a high-necked Western-style dress sits erectly. Field thought her gesture derives from Buddhist art.[7] Naomi E. Maurer subsequently identified it as a mudra denoting threatening or warning.[9] The front woman stretches herself, her facial features stylized and simplified. Field thought her pose had a Japanese precedent, Charles F. Stuckey suggests Delacroix's Women of Algiers.[8][b] The rear female figure is flush with the yellow-blue area. Her face is painted with individual features and represents the centre of the image. The pink colour of her dress is clearly distinct from the other colours. At the bottom right is the inscription "NAFEA Faa ipoipo" (When will you
