Three People, a Mask, a Fox, and a Bird, headpiece for Le sourire
1899
Medium
Wood-block print in black ink on thin ivory laid Japanese paper
Dimensions
Image: 9 × 18.5 cm (3 9/16 × 7 5/16 in.); Sheet: 9.4 × 18.6 cm (3 3/4 × 7 3/8 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
54711
Art Historical Context
In 1899, Paul Gauguin created *Three People, a Mask a Fox, and a Bird*, a striking woodblock print serving as a headpiece for *Le sourire* (The Smile). Produced during his second stay in Tahiti, this intimate work on thin ivory laid Japanese paper measures just 9 × 18.5 cm, showcasing Gauguin's fascination with Polynesian motifs and exotic symbolism. The black ink boldly outlines enigmatic figures—a trio of people, a mysterious mask, a sly fox, and a perched bird—evoking a dreamlike narrative that blends human, animal, and spiritual elements. Gauguin, a Post-Impressionist pioneer, drew inspir...
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 ...