Mahna no varua ino (The Devil Speaks), from the Noa Noa Suite - Paul Gauguin

Clarence Buckingham Collection

"Mahna no varua ino (The Devil Speaks), from the Noa Noa Suite" by Paul Gauguin (1893/94) Wood-block print, printed twice in brown and black inks, over a yellow, silver-gray and brownish-orange ink tone block, and transferred yellow, green, red, and orange oil-based media, some containing beeswax and conifer resin (probably pine resin), on ivory Japanese paper, laid down on cream wove card.

Commentary

"Mahna no varua ino (The Devil Speaks), 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 n otice 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 brown and black inks, over a yellow, silver-gray and brownish-orange ink tone block, and transferred yellow, green, red, and orange oil-based media, some containing beeswax and conifer resin (probably pine resin), on ivory Japanese paper, laid down on cream wove card) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 20.2 × 35.6 cm (8 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 20.4 × 35.6 cm (8 1/16 × 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/63061

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