L’univers est créé (The Universe Is Being Created), from the Noa Noa Suite

L’univers est créé (The Universe Is Being Created), from the Noa Noa Suite is a seminal wood-block print executed by the French Post-Impressionist master Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Created between 1893 and 1894, this compelling work was produced shortly after Gauguin’s return from his first transformative period in Tahiti, reflecting his deep immersion in Polynesian mythology and culture. The print is rendered in black ink on wove paper, originally pink but now faded to a pinkish tan, showcasing the artist’s characteristic employment of unconventional colored supports.

Gauguin utilized the wood-block printing technique with rigorous experimentation, notably applying selective wiping of the block to introduce subtle gradations and tonal differences, moving beyond the hard lines traditionally associated with the medium. This method allowed the artist to imbue the final impression with a more painterly, expressive quality.

The piece is part of the influential Noa Noa Suite, a collection of ten prints intended to illustrate Gauguin's semi-fictionalized journal of his life among the Indigenous people of the South Seas. The title subject, L’univers est créé, embodies Gauguin's quest to synthesize primal forces and creation myths, attempting to articulate a vision of the universe being born outside the strictures of Western religious tradition. The stark, raw power of the imagery cemented Gauguin's role in advancing modern prints and profoundly influenced subsequent generations of European artists. This unique impression of the work is preserved within the distinguished collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, offering scholars and the public a vital example of late 19th-century French Symbolism, often made accessible through public domain initiatives.