(b. 1848, Paris, d. 1903, Atuona, Hiva Oa, French Polynesia)
In the Waves (Ondine)
1889
Oil on canvas, 92 x 72 cm
Museum of Art, Cleveland
Ondine (or Undine) is a medieval love story of a water nymph and a knight, and the folly that results from their union. A romantic German novel entitled Undine, was written by Friedrich Heinrich Karl, Baron de la Motte Fouqué. Gauguin's painting is an illustration of a piece of reading.