Oviri
1894
Medium
Wood-block print, printed twice in deep yellow ocher and black ink (recto); wood-block print in black ink over stenciled yellow ink and a red ink tone block (verso); on cream wove paper (an imitation Japanese vellum)
Dimensions
Image/sheet: 20.8 × 12.3 cm (8 1/4 × 4 7/8 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
63090
Art Historical Context
Paul Gauguin's *Oviri* (1894) is a captivating woodcut print from the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings department, exemplifying the artist's bold experimentation during his Post-Impressionist phase. shortly after his first voyage to Tahiti, this work measures just 20.8 × 12.3 cm, inviting close contemplation of its vivid imagery on cream wove paper mimicking Japanese v—a nod to the ukiyo-e prints profoundly influenced European artists of the era. The print's technical ingenuity shines through its dual-sided execution: the recto employs wood-block printing twice in deep yellow ocher ...
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 ...