Gauguin's arrived in Tahitia in 1891, in search of romantic exotica and natural harmony, of that simplicity which was not to be found in European civilisation.
The famous traveller Bengt Danielsson, when he saw the place where Gauguin worked, emphasised the truthfulness of this depiction: "The population had been so decimated that... as in this painting, one could rarely see more than one rider or passerby."
The bright light and colour of the islands of Oceania is conveyed by generalised areas of resonant, sharp colours. The large tree at the foot of the mountain becomes the central component in this landscape and is also to be found in other works by the artist. With time this mountain became part of Gauguin's system of spiritual and symbolic images, linked with the Tahitian goddess of the Moon.