Noa Noa: L'Univers est créé (The Universe is Created)

Noa Noa: L'Univers est créé (The Universe is Created) is a powerful woodcut created by Paul Gauguin between 1893 and 1894. This seminal work belongs to the Noa Noa series, a portfolio of ten prints intended to accompany the artist’s memoir detailing his transformative first journey to Tahiti. Gauguin embraced the woodcut medium upon his return to France, rejecting the refined, reproductive techniques of academic etching popular at the time and choosing instead the raw, primal expression inherent in carving wood.

The print technique employed by Gauguin is highly innovative and experimental. Rather than treating the woodblock as a means for precise reproduction, Gauguin carved directly, allowing the rough texture and deeply incised lines to dominate the aesthetic. The resulting image relies on flat, contrasting fields of black and white, deliberately obscuring fine detail to convey spiritual or mythical intensity. This unique style demonstrates Gauguin’s full immersion into Symbolism, prioritizing evocative emotion over naturalistic representation.

The composition, titled "The Universe is Created," exemplifies Gauguin’s exploration of Polynesian mythology, specifically his interest in the creation narratives he encountered. The complexity of the image—a dense tangle of forms suggesting birth, growth, and divine presence—presents a mysterious, non-linear narrative divorced from European classical traditions.

Although produced in France, this body of work cemented Gauguin’s role as the leading Post-Impressionist interpreter of the South Pacific. These prints significantly influenced subsequent generations of modern artists, particularly the German Expressionists, who admired the raw, emotional power of the simplified forms. As a key example of Gauguin’s graphic output, this significant impression of Noa Noa: L'Univers est créé is housed within the esteemed collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.