Noa Noa (Fragrant), from the Noa Noa Suite
1893/94
Medium
Wood-block print in black ink, over traces of brown ink, with hand-applied blue, light blue, several greens, pink, orange, pale-orange, yellow, pale-red, and dark-gray watercolor, on ivory Japanese paper
Dimensions
Image: 35.4 × 20.3 cm (13 15/16 × 8 in.); Sheet: 35.7 × 20.6 cm (14 1/16 × 8 1/8 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
63019
Art Historical Context
**Noa Noa (Fragrant), from the No Noa Suite** Paul Gauguin, 1893/94* Paul Gauguin created this captivating woodcut during and shortly after his transformative first journey to Tahiti in 3–94. Seeking escape from European industrialization, the Post-Impressionist artist immersed in Polynesian culture, which profoundly shaped his vision of an idyllic, primal paradise. "Noaa," meaning "fragrant" in Tahitian, evokes the scents and sensuality of the islands, drawing from Gauguin's personal journal of the same name. As part of his rare Noa Noa Suite—a series of just 10 or so prints—this piece c...
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 ...