Auti te pape (Women at the River), from the Noa Noa Suite

Auti te pape (Women at the River), from the Noa Noa Suite, is a significant wood-block print created by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903 between 1893 and 1894. This impression, printed using reddish-brown and black ink on ivory wove paper, belongs to a seminal series that accompanied Gauguin's semi-autobiographical manuscript documenting his initial experiences in Tahiti.

The Noa Noa Suite represents a crucial transition in Gauguin’s artistic practice, where the French artist abandoned conventional printmaking methods to embrace the raw expressiveness of the wood-block medium. The deliberate coarseness and simplified, often monumental forms seen in Auti te pape (Women at the River) reflect his search for a "primitive" aesthetic, utilizing the grain and imperfections of the wood to create textural contrast. This technique allowed Gauguin to achieve stark visual drama, a major departure from established European graphic arts traditions.

The subject matter, showing Tahitian women gathered near the water, captures the exoticism that defined Gauguin’s late career. By depicting indigenous life with powerful symbolic undertones, the artist sought to critique the complexities of modern civilization. The Art Institute of Chicago's collection provides key context for this piece, noting that this specific print retains its original presentation structure, having been previously mounted on mottled blue wove paper before being secured to a cream wove card support. This print is classified by the museum as a core example of Gauguin's influential output during his time in the South Pacific.