Mu'umu'us and Gauguin

Where to begin with how problematic Paul Gauguin’s paintings of Polynesian women are/were/always will be? If you don’t understand this 2019 NYT article is a good place to start … just so that we are clear…

With that in mind, I was still struck at a recent trip to the Met by “Two Women,” 1901 (above). I always recall the nudes but there is a wealth of mu’umu’us in his paintings... And the side eyes are pretty good. You get the impression everyone was tolerating him. Just barely.