Noa noa (Fragrant)

Noa noa (Fragrant) is a significant wood-block print created by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903, between 1894 and 1895. This deeply personal work emerged after the artist's first prolonged stay in Tahiti (1891-1893) and serves as a visual accompaniment to his semi-autobiographical travel memoir, also titled Noa noa. The work bridges Gauguin's exoticized depictions of Polynesian life with his Symbolist interest in spiritual and non-Western iconography, reflecting his ongoing search for artistic and cultural authenticity outside metropolitan France.

The technique utilized here demonstrates Gauguin’s experimental approach to the traditional woodcut medium. The image was initially executed as a wood-block print in black ink on cream wove paper. This base layer was subsequently treated with a selective application of yellow ocher ink, thinned with solvent. This innovative layering creates subtle tonal shifts and luminosity, moving the piece beyond standard graphic arts into the realm of painterly prints. Gauguin’s method of applying color to the block by hand, rather than using precise registration, ensured that each print produced during this period was unique.

This powerful example of Symbolist printmaking is part of the esteemed collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Gauguin's pioneering work in graphic arts, particularly his development of the expressive wood-block print, heavily influenced subsequent generations of European artists. As the original work resides in a major museum collection, high-quality images of these landmark Noa noa prints are often available through public domain initiatives for academic study and reference.