L'Univers est crée (The Creation of the Universe) from Noa Noa (Fragrant Scent)

L'Univers est crée (The Creation of the Universe) from Noa Noa (Fragrant Scent) is a pivotal print created by Paul Gauguin around 1893. This woodcut exemplifies Gauguin’s radical adoption of the medium, utilizing the natural grain and imperfections of the wood block to heighten the emotional and primitive power of his imagery. It forms a key element of the Noa Noa series, a collaborative project intended to illustrate the artist’s lyrical account of his time in Tahiti and his deep engagement with Polynesian culture and mythology.

The execution of this classification of print is deliberate in its simplicity and raw energy. Gauguin abandoned the detailed precision common in European graphic traditions in favor of a rough, almost sculptural treatment of the block. This intentional coarseness in the woodcut technique reinforces the primal subject matter, creating deep, contrasting blacks and stark white areas that articulate the dramatic moment of cosmic genesis. This approach positioned Gauguin as a major innovator in printmaking during the late 19th century.

Created during the period 1893–94, while Gauguin was back in France, this piece distills his fascination with non-Western mythologies. Rather than depicting the familiar Biblical creation narrative, Gauguin translates indigenous South Pacific concepts of cosmic origins and powerful natural deities into his visual language, synthesizing his knowledge of French Symbolism with the motifs he encountered abroad. As a leading figure of the French Post-Impressionist movement, Gauguin sought to infuse symbolic meaning and subjective experience into his work, moving sharply away from the era’s focus on naturalistic representation.

This powerful example of a master print is categorized within the French cultural output of the era. Today, L'Univers est crée is housed in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where it serves as a significant record of the artist’s groundbreaking approach to printmaking and his development of a unique visual synthesis between European aesthetics and Tahitian lore.