When Paul Gauguin sailed from Marseille forTahiti on April 1， 1891， he was confident offinding a terrestrial paradise with natives livingin sensual harmony with nature and ancient deities.Thatimage had been reinforced by early travelers and by a bookpublished to coincide with the 1890 Colonial Exhibition in Paris. The Tahitians“know only a life of sweetness，”it noted，adding. \"For them. to live is to sine and love.\"