According to Jean-Claude Maleuvre's book "Museum Memories: History, Technology, Art," Gauguin's views on Polynesian women were complex and contradictory. On the one hand, he was fascinated by their exotic beauty and saw them as a source of artistic inspiration. On the other hand, he objectified and exoticized them, portraying them as primitive and sexually available. Gauguin's depictions of Polynesian women have been criticized as perpetuating colonialist stereotypes and promoting a Westernized gaze.