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In a letter to his friend Daniel de Monfreid in Paris, written in December 1892, Gauguin described this work and two smaller canvases: "I believe they are my best, and since it will be the first of January in several days I have dated one, the best, 1893. Exceptionally, I gave it a French title: Pastorales Tahitiennes, not finding a corresponding title in the language of the South Seas."
The importance of titles to all the works Gauguin produced in Tahiti should not be overlooked, especially since they were usually written prominently in large letters. These add a further dimension to his paintings and demonstrate his attempts to woo a Parisian audience with whimsical, allusive names that conjure up visions of an idyllic existence, in which the figures roam freely in a strangely timeless setting.
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