When Paul Gauguin was dabbing lime green paint on to Jesus' chest in his painting Portrait of the Artist with Yellow Christ, Canberra did not exist. It was 1891 and Australia was not yet a country, just an unruly collection of states 10 years from federation. Gauguin's fellow artist Vincent van Gogh had killed himself the year before, two years after the pair's doomed eight-week sojourn in Arles, during which they quarrelled fiercely about art and which culminated with the increasingly manic van Gogh cutting off part of his ear.

Next month, Portrait of the Artist with Yellow Christ and 113 of the world's finest examples of post-impressionism will arrive in Australia in one of eight cargo aircraft for the National Gallery of Australia's landmark Masterpieces from Paris: Van Gogh, Gauguin, Ce{aac}zanne and beyond exhibition.

As visitors admire the paintings and leave with a catalogue and some pleasant memories, few will appreciate the complex behind-the-scenes planning and execution required to bring an exhibition of this scale to Canberra. A bit like those who leave promptly at the end of a film, ignoring the credits to hundreds of people involved in its production.

Last week, at the Muse{aac}e d'Orsay, which is lending the masterpieces as part of a three-country international tour while it is closed for year-long renovations, director Guy Cogeval was frantically overseeing the final taking down of the paintings to be sent to Canberra. It was Monday, the one day a week the museum is closed, which gave staff a chance to replace the travelling masterpieces with works from its extensive collection in storage.

Pointing to Paul Signac's luminous Women at the Well (1892), one of the few loaned paintings still hanging, he says, ''This one is coming to Canberra, even though it is very fragile.'' Two other nearby Signacs were deemed too fragile to travel.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times