In this painting Paul Gauguin is depicting a nude Tahitian girl lying on her stomach. An old woman is seated behind her. In Tahitian mythology the title may refer to either the girl imagining the ghost, or the ghost imagining her.
The subject of the painting was Gauguin's Tahitian wife Tehura, then 14 years old, who one night, according to Gauguin, was lying in fear when he arrived late home.
The spirit she fears is personified by the old woman seated at left. The strong colors are symbolic of the native Polynesian belief that phosphorescent lights were manifestations of the spirits of the dead.
Painting’s original is located at Albright–Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York.

Manao Tupapau painting appears in the background of another Paul Gauguin's painting, his Self-portrait with Hat, possibly indicating its importance to him.