Human Miseries, from the Suite of Late Wood-Block Prints
1898/99
Medium
Wood-block print in black ink on thin ivory Japanese paper, laid down on white Japanese paper
Dimensions
Image: 19.3 × 29.8 cm (7 5/8 × 11 3/4 in.); Primary support: 22.7 × 30.4 cm (8 15/16 × 12 in.); Secondary support: 22.7 × 30.4 cm (8 15/16 × 12 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
60636
Art Historical Context
Paul Gauguin's *Human Miseries*, created around 1898–99, is a poignant wood-block print from his of Late Wood-Block. Produced during the artist's second stay in Tahiti where he sought escape from Western civilization and immersion in Polynesian culture, this work captures the raw essence of human suffering. Gauguin, a Post-Impressionist pioneer known for his vivid colors and primitivist themes, turned to printmaking in his final years amid illness and hardship, reflecting his fascination with non-Western art forms. Printed in bold black ink on thin ivory Japanese paper and laid down on white ...
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 ...