A Horse and Birds, headpiece for Le sourire

A Horse and Birds, headpiece for Le sourire by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903, is a characteristic example of the artist's graphic work created late in his career, dating to 1899. Classified as a print, this piece utilized the expressive power of the wood-block technique, executed in black ink. The work was specifically designed to serve as a decorative element, or headpiece, for Gauguin's privately circulated, satirical journal, Le sourire (The Smile), which he produced during his years in Tahiti.

During this period, Gauguin largely abandoned painting large-scale canvases in favor of printmaking, finding the wood-block medium conducive to conveying strong, simplified forms and textural drama. The impression is pulled on a specialized mottled gray-blue wove paper, which provides a distinctive visual texture and slightly cool tone against the stark black ink lines. This primary sheet was subsequently laid down onto a piece of buff wove paper. The design itself, featuring the robust silhouette of a horse complemented by small, active birds, emphasizes the contrast and decorative quality inherent in the medium, avoiding excessive descriptive detail.

Though based outside metropolitan France, Gauguin’s continued production of challenging and innovative prints profoundly impacted European modernism. This 1899 work demonstrates the artist's resourcefulness in self-publishing and his integrated approach to art and literary endeavors. As an example of pioneering French printmaking, the wood-block print A Horse and Birds, headpiece for Le sourire resides in the esteemed collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, contributing to the understanding of the artist’s late maturity. Due to the age of the original creation, high-quality images of many of these master prints are widely available in the public domain.