Three People, a Mask, a Fox and a Bird, headpiece for Le sourire - Paul Gauguin

Gift of Edward McCormick Blair

"Three People, a Mask, a Fox and a Bird, headpiece for Le sourire" by Paul Gauguin (1899) Wood-block print in black ink on thin ivory laid Japanese paper.

Commentary

"Three People, a Mask, a Fox and a Bird, headpiece for Le sourire" by Paul Gauguin (1899) 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 in black ink on thin ivory laid Japanese paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image: 10 × 18.6 cm (3 15/16 × 7 3/8 in.); Sheet: 12.7 × 22.8 cm (5 × 9 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/159088

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