Manao tupapau (She Thinks of the Ghost or The Ghost Thinks of Her) - Paul Gauguin

Albert H. Wolf Memorial Collection

"Manao tupapau (She Thinks of the Ghost or The Ghost Thinks of Her)" by Paul Gauguin (1894/95) Wood-block print, printed twice in black ink, on cream Japanese paper.

Commentary

"Manao tupapau (She Thinks of the Ghost or The Ghost Thinks of Her)" by Paul Gauguin (1894/95) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include woodcut. This piece is hel d 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 ink, on cream Japanese paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 22.9 × 15.7 cm (9 1/16 × 6 3/16 in.); Sheet: 23.2 × 18.8 cm (9 3/16 × 7 7/16 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/55774

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