creature given to reading philosophical books that dealt with the lationship of men to god, like johmilton'sradise lost" anothereferee to the theme of the falangel. for all his tongue-icheek aylness, a deep current of spirituality runs through gauguin's work. raised a catholic, he rejected the institution of the church, but not the faith, nor its imagery. a sculpture of christ being taken wn from the cross outside the church of nizon inspired "green christ." he moved the setting to the cliffs and dunes above le pouldu. he was drawn to brittany's humble, direct forms of worship. the chapel at trÉmalo near pont-aven captures the essence of the region's homespun christianity. one painter described brittany as a primitive world, where paganism lurked behind a veneer of christianity. gauguin transported the crucifix to a breton landscape. in "yellow christ," he employed a fiery, unnatural palette and outlined the figure to emphasize its flatness -- deliberately making it more primitive. the setting echoed a local breton belief that saw a mystical connection between the crucifixion and the autumn