Watercolor and gouache on paper; sculpted frame in polychromed plaster on wood.
Initials « F.H. » on the watercolor ; signature « François Hippolyte » and title on the back.
Watercolor 20 x 16 cm ; watercolor with frame 30 x 26 x 3.5 cm.
Private collection of Bruno Deval.
On the watercolor, you can recognize the Hiva Oa Bay in the Marquesas Islands. In the upper corner on the left, there seems to be a piece of wood cross from the Gauguin tomb. On the frame, you can notice forms and figures inspired from reliefs in the Borubudur temples.
If you extrapolate, you can imagine a full cross… You may then suppose there could exist three other watecolors, in reference to the title written on the back of this one: “Little piece of heaven (n°4)”. This, of course, is only a hypothesis.
… From a truly fake story by Gaya…