Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? Paul Gauguin is known to be one of the greatest painters in the world, although he was not highly regarded in his time. His work seems to tell stories of his life. In his series of paintings made in Tahiti, we can see the many wonders explored by Gauguin himself. Today Gauguin's paintings are worth millions. For example; Paul Gauguin's Maternite (II), made in 1899, sold for $39.2 million. This was not the case when Gauguin began his new career. In this essay I will decide to explore Gauguin's life and his famous painting Where Do We Come From? What are we? Where are we going? Paul Gauguin was born in Paris, France on June 7, 1848. Gauguin's family were middle-class people with a liberal outlook on life. His father, Clovis, was a journalist and his own family were gardeners, for generations. His mother's family were Peruvian aristocrats, and some of them were famous. Gauguin's early life was interesting as the family did not stay in Paris, but instead spent four years in Peru. Gauguin, who eventually became an artist, gave no initial indication that he was leaning in that direction. He worked for a time in the French merchant navy, then became a stockbroker in Paris. His career was successful, he married and had five children. Everything in his life seemed to have settled comfortably, but soon everything would change. In 1874 Gauguin met the artist Camille Pissarro and later saw the first exhibition of Impressionist art. From that moment on, Gauguin became passionate about art and in fact became an art collector and then an amateur painter. However, in a short time, painting became... half the paper... and is also a trademark of Gauguin; as seen with the figure in the center in Where Do We Come From? What are we? Where are we going? His thick, flat brushstrokes help create a design element that differs from Impressionist artists. Gauguin is a masterful painter. Today Gauguin's paintings are sold in the millions. Another example of his masterpiece being appreciated in today's society is when a portrait of his muse, Amedeo Modigliani and his lover, Jeanne Hébuterne, sold for $31.4 million. If only he had known that his paintings were selling for millions of dollars. Pollock, Lindsay. “Fall Auctions Rise to $678 Million.” ARTNews January 2005: vol. 104. Number 1."Gauguin, Paul." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 1994 edHarrison, Charles., Wood, Paul., and Gaiger, Jason. Art in Theory 18-15-1900: An Anthology of Changing Ideas. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell. 1998.