"Museums in Atuona, Capital of Hiva Oa" Atuona by drmjalba

Atuona Travel Guide: 0 reviews and 3 photos

Atuona. Bungalow View over the Bay of Traitors

Atuona

Dominated by Mount Temetiu, Atuona is situated in a beautiful location on the island of Hiva Oa, on the shore of the Bay of Traitors, traditionally called Vevau in Marquesan. It has two main museums, dedicated to the French painter Paul Gauguin and to the Belgian singer Jacques Brel. Both artists chose to die here.

Paul Gauguin Museum

"La maison de Jouir": Gauguin's Workshop

Atuona was Paul Gauguin's home for the last three years of his life, and he is buried in the cemetery (Calvary Cemetery, French: Cimetière Calvaire) there.
The Paul Gauguin Cultural Center (French: Le Centre Culturel Paul Gauguin) was opened on May 8, 2003, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the death of Paul Gauguin, in Atuona, on Hiva ‘Oa, in the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia).
The Marquesas
From 1901 until his death on May 8 1903, he lived in the Marquesas, in Atuona on the South coast of Hiva Oa, and built his house on stilts " la maison du jouir (the house of pleasure) ". This house was characterized by five sculptured panels and two statues framing the door. "The house of pleasure", now part of the museum, included a sculpture studio, a dining room, a kitchen and, upstairs, a room and a big workshop. There he painted some twenty paintings where colors were overwhelming. On "The house of pleasure", where he lived with a young female companion named Marie-Rose, he wrote "Te faruru": here we love. He died at age 57 in 1903, in poverty.

The "Jacques Brel" Space

Jacques Brel Space, opened on October 3, 2003, on the 25th anniversary of this Belgian poet-singer death, is adjacent to the Paul Gauguin Museum and is hosted in the hangar of his former plane.

A rich information about his life and his song is on display here. The movie projection equipment that Brel had imported from France to spice up the monotonous life of his Marquesan friends is exhibited there as well as his airplane, his famous "Bonanza", renamed "Jojo" in the memory of a dear friend, which has been restored under the sponsorship of the Dassault company.