Mahna no varua ino (The Devil Speaks), from the Noa Noa Suite

Mahna no varua ino (The Devil Speaks), from the Noa Noa Suite, is a complex and experimental wood-block print created by Paul Gauguin, French, 1848-1903, between 1893 and 1894. This piece showcases Gauguin’s radical approach to printmaking immediately following his return from his first sojourn to Tahiti.

The medium is exceptionally intricate, utilizing multiple layers of application. The wood block itself was printed twice, employing both brown and black inks, which were superimposed over a foundational tone block composed of yellow, silver-gray, and brownish-orange inks. Further demonstrating the artist’s commitment to texture and color innovation, the surface was augmented by transferred oil-based media-specifically yellow, green, red, and orange pigments. These oil media often contained binders such as beeswax and conifer resin, applied meticulously to ivory Japanese paper before being laid down on a cream wove card.

The Noa Noa Suite was created to complement Gauguin’s travelogue documenting his experiences and philosophical observations in the South Pacific, blending autobiography with visual mythology. The title translates to “The Devil Speaks” or “The Word of the Evil Spirit,” reflecting the artist’s preoccupation with spiritual and often ominous forces he perceived in Tahitian culture. This work is a crucial example of French Symbolism and the late 19th-century search for exotic subject matter. Gauguin’s innovative graphic techniques in works like Mahna no varua ino profoundly influenced subsequent generations of artists working in the medium of prints. This singular piece is classified as a Print and resides in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.