Les Amours d'un vieux peintre aux Marquises Between pastiche and true story

This article examines Les Amours d'un vieux peintre aux îles Marquises (1903), a comedy that is both a realistic account of Paul Gauguin's presence in Hiva Oa and an elaborate creation, as classic as it is modern, of "Ky Dong". The author's cross-cultural training, precocious talent and anti-colonial convictions provide a context for our reading of his comedy.