Fragrance (Noa Noa), from Fragrance (Noa Noa), title block
1893–94
Medium
Woodblock (fruit wood) with traces of zinc white and ink See Notes regarding wood identification.
Dimensions
13 7/8 x 8 x 7/8 in. (35.2 x 20.3 x 2.2 cm)
Classification
Blocks
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1937
Accession Number
37.97
Tags
Art Historical Context
Paul Gauguin's *Fragrance (Noa Noa), from France (Noa Noa), title block* (1893–94) the artist's fascination with Tahiti during his transformative stay there from 1891 to 1893. "Noa Noa," meaning "fragrant" in Tahitian, evokes lush, exotic scents and visions that inspired Gauguin's Post-Impressionist and Symbolist works. This served as the title block for a series of woodcuts, reflecting his embrace of Polynesian culture and rejection of European conventions. Carved from fruit wood with traces of zinc white and ink, the block measures 13⅞ × 8 × ⅞ inches and reveals Gauguin's pioneering techniq...
About the Artist
Paul Gauguin · 1848–1903
Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) was a French Post-Impressionist painter whose bold experiments with color, form, and subject matter made him one of the most influential figures in the transition from 19th-century art to modernism. His rejection of European civilization for the perceived authenticity of 'primitive' cultures established an archetype of artistic exile that continues to resonate. Gauguin's ...