Soyez amoureuses, vous serez heureuses (Love, and You Will be Happy), from the Suite of Late Wood-Block Prints - Paul Gauguin

The Joseph Brooks Fair Collection

"Soyez amoureuses, vous serez heureuses (Love, and You Will be Happy), from the Suite of Late Wood-Block Prints" by Paul Gauguin (1899) Second-state impression laid down on first-state impression Wood-block print of second state in black ink on thin ivory Japanese paper, laid down on wood-block print of first state in yellow ocher ink on grayish-ivory wove paper (recto); wood-block print in black and yellow ocher ink on grayish-ivory wove paper (partial offset impression of the second state) (verso).

Commentary

"Soyez amoureuses, vous serez heureuses (Love, and You Will be Happy), from the Suite of Late Wood-Block Prints" by Paul Gauguin (1899) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include woodcut. This piece is held in the source collection's Pr ints 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 (Second-state impression laid down on first-state impression Wood-block print of second state in black ink on thin ivory Japanese paper, laid down on wood-block print of first state in yellow ocher ink on grayish-ivory wove paper (recto); wood-block print in black and yellow ocher ink on grayish-ivory wove paper (partial offset impression of the second state) (verso)) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 16.2 × 27.5 cm (6 7/16 × 10 7/8 in.); Primary/secondary support: 16.3 × 27.5 cm (6 7/16 × 10 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/67026

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