Nave nave fenua (Delightful Land), from the Noa Noa Suite - Paul Gauguin

Gift of Edward McCormick Blair

"Nave nave fenua (Delightful Land), from the Noa Noa Suite" by Paul Gauguin (1893–94) Wood-block print, printed twice in yellow ocher and black inks, over a yellow ink tone block, and stenciled red oil medium, on cream Japanese paper discolored to a grayish tone.

Commentary

"Nave nave fenua (Delightful Land), 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 narrativ e 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 yellow ocher and black inks, over a yellow ink tone block, and stenciled red oil medium, on cream Japanese paper discolored to a grayish tone) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 35.9 × 20.7 cm (14 3/16 × 8 3/16 in.); Sheet: 39.2 × 25 cm (15 7/16 × 9 7/8 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/159103

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