Nave nave fenua (Delightful Land), from the Noa Noa Suite

Nave nave fenua (Delightful Land), a pivotal work from the Noa Noa Suite, was created by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903 between 1893 and 1894. This highly experimental wood-block print showcases Gauguin’s radical, Symbolist approach to printmaking. The artist achieved its distinctive color and texture through a sophisticated, multi-stage process. The work was printed twice using yellow ocher and black inks, layered over an initial yellow ink tone block. This rich color base was further enhanced by stenciling a red oil medium onto cream Japanese paper, which has since aged to a grayish tone.

Created shortly after Gauguin's initial return to France from his first trip to Tahiti, the Noa Noa Suite served as an illustrative companion to his semi-fictionalized journal, chronicling his life and encounters in the South Pacific. Gauguin utilized the medium of the wood-block print not merely for reproduction, but as a primary expressive tool, carving the wood directly to achieve primal, bold forms. This piece reflects his continuing fascination with Tahitian mythology and the exoticized figure, themes central to his mature career. As a major print in his oeuvre, this work demonstrates Gauguin’s attempt to synthesize French artistic modernism with the visual traditions he encountered far from Europe.

The complex, multi-layered technique used by Gauguin, blending graphic line with applied color blocks, profoundly influenced subsequent generations of modernist printmakers. This significant print, classified as a print, remains an essential object for studying Gauguin's innovative handling of color and narrative structure during this critical period. Nave nave fenua is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where it is often studied as an example of art that has entered the public domain, referencing the artist’s complex legacy and impact on art from France.