Manao Tupapau (She is Haunted by a Spirit)
1893-1894
Medium
color woodcut in brown and black on Japan paper
Dimensions
block: 20.4 x 35.5 cm (8 1/16 x 14 in.) sheet: 20.8 x 35.7 cm (8 3/16 x 14 1/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Patrons' Permanent Fund
Accession Number
2004.69.1
Art Historical Context
**Manao Tupapau (She is Haunted by a Spirit)** is a captivating color woodcut created by Paul Gauguin 1893 and 1894, during his transformative second stay in Tahiti.uguin, a leading Post-Impressionist and pioneer of Primitivism, sought escape from European civilization in Polynesia, drawing inspiration from Tahitian myths, landscapes, and daily life. The title, translating to "She is Haunted by a Spirit in Tahitian, evokes sense of mystery and the supernatural, likely depicting a young woman—possibly Gauguin's companion Tehura—reclining nude under the gaze of a protective lizard spirit, a symb...
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 ...