Te atua (The God), from the Suite of Late Wood-Block Prints - Paul Gauguin

Gift of Gilles Artur and Jean-Pierre Zingg

"Te atua (The God), from the Suite of Late Wood-Block Prints" by Paul Gauguin (1899, printed 1995) Wood-block print in black and brown ink from two blocks on cream Japanese paper with cream fibrous inclusions throughout.

Commentary

"Te atua (The God), from the Suite of Late Wood-Block Prints" by Paul Gauguin (1899, printed 1995) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include woodcut. This piece is held in the source c ollection'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) printed by Luc Guérin (French, born 1954). 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 in black and brown ink from two blocks on cream Japanese paper with cream fibrous inclusions throughout) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 24.4 × 22.7 cm (9 5/8 × 8 15/16 in.); Sheet, sight: 50 × 33.5 cm (19 11/16 × 13 1/4 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/142549

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