The answer is "red and green".
la Orana Maria (Tahitian for 'Hail Mary'), the painting epitomized Gauguin's deep rooted interest with the colorful. He had made a trip toward the South Pacific planning to discover imaginative motivation in 'crude' societies living in amicability with nature and pristine by European qualities. Rather, he found a world officially changed by pilgrim lead and Christianity. Gauguin most likely took in the term 'la Orana Maria' from the Catholic preachers who had changed over Mataiea – the area where Gauguin painted this picture – some time before the craftsman arrived. In any case, in his works of art Gauguin made the world he looked for, entwining the legends and symbolism of the islands with that of the West and his own particular creative energy.
