Tahitian and Noa Noa Series

The Tahitian and Noa Noa Series by Paul Gauguin, created between 1893 and 1894, represents a crucial shift in the artist’s engagement with printmaking. Classified specifically as woodcuts, this series marked Gauguin’s departure from finer print media like etching and lithography, allowing him to explore stark, powerful forms reflective of his life in the South Pacific. Produced immediately following his first sojourn to Tahiti, these prints interpret Polynesian culture, myth, and spirituality through a deeply personal and symbolic lens.

Gauguin utilized the inherent roughness of the woodcut technique to great expressive effect. He often scraped, scored, and manipulated the woodblock surface to create areas of deliberate crudeness, texture, and shadow, deliberately rejecting traditional European refinement. This method resulted in images dominated by bold, simplified outlines and flattened planes, featuring female figures integrated into dense, symbolic tropical settings.

The title references the artist’s travelogue, Noa Noa (meaning "fragrant"), a semi-fictionalized account of his Tahitian experience intended to accompany and explain the visual works. The prints were designed to complement the manuscript, attempting to bridge the cultural gap between the perceived 'primitive' life he observed and the sophisticated art audience in France.

As enduring examples of Symbolism and Post-Impressionist prints, the series remains foundational to understanding Gauguin's late career aesthetic. This important collection of woodcuts is represented within the holdings of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The legacy of these experimental works continues to influence modern printmaking, reinforcing Gauguin's central role in 19th-century French art.