christ on the mount of olives paul gauguinA strangely captivating oil painting, Paul Gauguin's "Christ on the Mount of Olives" is a self portrait that places the artist in the place of Christ as he embarks on a journey into the unknown. It represents Gauguin's belief that he, like Christ, would ultimately perish for the salvation and betterment of his contemporaries. He purposely depicts the figures in the background without faces to ensure that they do not distract from the central figure.