Manao tupapau (Watched by the Spirit of the Dead) from Noa Noa (Fragrant Scent)

Manao tupapau (Watched by the Spirit of the Dead) from Noa Noa (Fragrant Scent) by Paul Gauguin is a potent example from the artist's pivotal late-career period, executed in 1894 and later printed in 1921. This seminal print is one of eight powerful woodcuts created to illustrate Gauguin’s autobiographical travelogue, Noa Noa, which chronicled his first immersive journey to Tahiti and his search for an uncorrupted, "primitive" culture. The choice of woodcut, a medium often favored for its directness and rough texture, allowed Gauguin to employ highly stylized lines and sharp contrasts, emphasizing the spiritual and psychological tension he aimed to convey in his Tahitian narratives.

The subject matter, previously explored in an 1892 oil painting, depicts a reclining nude figure, likely the artist’s young Tahitian partner, Mette, observed by a shrouded, menacing presence representing the tupapau, or spirit of the dead, a figure central to local folklore. In this rendition, Gauguin strips away the vibrant color of the earlier canvas, relying instead on the stark black-and-white contrast inherent to the printmaking process. This graphic intensity heightens the sense of fear and the psychological drama inherent in the encounter between the living and the spectral world. The composition, characteristic of the Post-Impressionist style favored by the French artist, utilizes flattened planes and simplified forms, intensifying the emotional immediacy of the scene.

While the original design for the woodcut was completed in 1894 upon Gauguin's return to France, this specific impression was printed posthumously in 1921. The Noa Noa series marks a critical stage in Gauguin’s exploration of non-Western spirituality and his adoption of Primitivism, influencing countless subsequent artists who valued reductive mediums like prints for powerful formal expression. This work, Manao tupapau, stands as an essential component of the artist’s graphic oeuvre and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), affirming its historical significance as a major contribution to modern French art history.