L’univers est créé (The Universe Is Being Created), from the Noa Noa Suite - Paul Gauguin

Clarence Buckingham Collection

European Art Modern Art Paintings Prints

"L’univers est créé (The Universe Is Being Created), from the Noa Noa Suite" by Paul Gauguin (1893/94) Wood-block print, printed twice in black and brown inks, with selective wiping, and hand-applied orange, yellow, red, two tones of green, two tones of blue, silver-gray and black watercolor, on cream wove Japanese paper laid down on cream laid Japanese paper (a laminate made by the artist).

Commentary

"L’univers est créé (The Universe Is Being Created), from the Noa Noa Suite" by Paul Gauguin (1893/94) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Its painted surface guides your eye through color, brushwork, and contrast rather than through narrative alone. Themes to notice include woodcut. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Paul Gauguin is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903. The work is cataloged within a France cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as woodcut, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Wood-block print, printed twice in black and brown inks, with selective wiping, and hand-applied orange, yellow, red, two tones of green, two tones of blue, silver-gray and black watercolor, on cream wove Japanese paper laid down on cream laid Japanese paper (a laminate made by the artist)) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 20.4 × 35.4 cm (8 1/16 × 13 15/16 in.); Sheets: 20.6 × 35.6 cm (8 1/8 × 14 1/16 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include woodcut. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/63038

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data