Manao tupapau (She Thinks of the Ghost or The Ghost Thinks of Her), from the Noa Noa Suite - Paul Gauguin

Manao tupapau (She Thinks of the Ghost or The Ghost Thinks of Her), from the Noa Noa Suite - Paul Gauguin
Clarence Buckingham Collection
European Art Modern Art Paintings Prints
"Manao tupapau (She Thinks of the Ghost or The Ghost Thinks of Her), from the Noa Noa Suite" by Paul Gauguin (1893/94) Wood-block print, printed three times in reddish-brown, black, and light black ink, with touches of brush and black gouache and silver-gray watercolor (altered from black), on ivory laid Japanese paper, laid down on ivory wove Japanese paper (a laminate made by the artist).

Commentary

Commentary

"Manao tupapau (She Thinks of the Ghost or The Ghost Thinks of Her), 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 n arrative 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 three times in reddish-brown, black, and light black ink, with touches of brush and black gouache and silver-gray watercolor (altered from black), on ivory laid Japanese paper, laid down on ivory wove Japanese paper (a laminate made by the artist)) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 20.4 × 35.7 cm (8 1/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 20.7 × 35.9 cm (8 3/16 × 14 3/16 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/80075
Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data