The painting Ia Orana Maria means "Hail Mary" in Tahitian and the story behind this painting was explained to us back when we were kids and it was created by the french artist Paul Gauguin and it started in 1891 when during his visit to the island of Tahiti where he created this art and this art represents and shows a unique blend of Christian and Polynesian (Tahitian) culture.
The story behind each character goes thus, in the center of the painting there is a woman wearing a red dress who is carrying a child on her shoulder and this is the representation of the Virgin Mary who is the mother of Jesus and baby Jesus, they both have golden halos around their heads and a symbol of holiness in Christian art and in the front of them, there are two tahitian women that are standing with their hands together in prayer which was told to us that they are showing respect and the background is filled with tropical trees, flowers, and fruits, giving the painting a warm and peaceful island feeling which is a part if the Tahiti life.
At the bottom of the painting, the words “IA ORANA MARIA” are written and it was told fo us that it is the Tahitian version of “Hail Mary,” a prayer used to honor the Virgin Mary in Christianity and mostly in the Catholic churches By using this phrase, Gauguin connects Christian faith with Tahitian language and lifestyle.
At a point we were learning how to speak the common tongue which is tahitan, though french is their common language.
Even though the painting is old and has some damages, it still speaks to people today and most especially the Catholic part and it invites us to think about how different cultures can meet, share ideas, and create something meaningful.
Thanks for reading 🙏🏾