Which of the following is NOT true of Gauguin’s painting Spirit of the Dead Watching?

a. It depicts his wife.
b. It is based on his wife’s experience.
c. It shows a dead spirit.
d. It uses a traditional compositional form.
e. It is depicted in a rational space.

e. It is depicted in a rational space.

a. Incorrect. This painting does depict the native woman that Gauguin married in Tahiti.
b. Incorrect. This painting does depict an experience that Gauguin’s wife had in which she saw a dead spirit in the night.
c. Incorrect. This painting does depict the dead spirit that his wife saw in the night.
d. Incorrect. Gauguin does use the traditional compositional form in this painting known as the reclining nude.
e. Correct. Because the painting depicts elements from beyond the natural world, Gauguin uses the strategy of using an irrational space for them.