Artwork
Be Be (The Nativity)
Be Be (The Nativity) is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin. It dates from 1898 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work’s title, Be Be, is Tahitian for "little child," underscoring the primacy of the Christ Child as the focal point of spiritual meaning.
Be Be (The Nativity) depicts the Nativity of Jesus, focusing on the infant Christ Child lying at the center of the composition. Gauguin’s rendering emphasizes simplicity and directness, omitting traditional iconographic elements such as the ox, ass, or shepherds to concentrate on the essential scene of birth and divine incarnation.
The work’s title, Be Be, is Tahitian for "little child," underscoring the primacy of the Christ Child as the focal point of spiritual meaning. By reducing the narrative to its most elemental form, Gauguin aligns the painting with Symbolist ideals, using the subject to evoke a universal sense of innocence and divine presence rather than a literal depiction of the biblical event.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, measuring 67 cm by 76.5 cm. It depicts the Nativity of Jesus with the Christ Child, reflecting Gauguin’s symbolic use of religious imagery and flat, decorative forms characteristic of his mature style. The brushwork and color application suggest a synthesis of Post-Impressionist techniques with Tahitian influences, while the composition remains rooted in European religious tradition.
History & Provenance
The work was painted by Paul Gauguin in 1896 while he was in France, during the final decade of his career.
By 1918 the painting entered the collection of Sergei Shchukin in Moscow. It remained with Shchukin until the Soviet nationalization of his holdings in 1918–1919. The painting was subsequently transferred to the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, where it has been held since that time.
Paul Gauguin's 1896 painting Be Be (The Nativity) is currently held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum. The work depicts the Nativity of Jesus and was historically owned by Sergei Shchukin before entering the museum's holdings. While the specific inventory or accession number is not detailed in the provided records, the Hermitage Museum serves as the definitive location for this religious oil painting on canvas.
Overview
Created in 1898, Be Be (The Nativity) is an oil painting by Paul Gauguin that resides in the State Hermitage Museum. The work presents an intimate interior scene in which three dark‑skinned figures are gathered around a newborn child, while a distant landscape of grazing sheep and a bright sky is visible through a window.
Context
The painting belongs to a period when Gauguin explored non‑Western subjects and sought to reinterpret Christian iconography through a tropical lens. By portraying the Nativity with dark‑skinned figures, the work challenges conventional European representations and aligns with the artist’s broader interest in cultural synthesis and symbolic narrative.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; French:; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements.
