Tahitian Woman, headpiece for Le sourire

"Tahitian Woman, headpiece for Le sourire" is an essential late-career print by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903. Created between 1899 and 1900, this image was realized as a wood-block print, executed in black ink upon thin ivory laid Japanese paper. The classification as a print highlights Gauguin's deep engagement with graphic media late in his career, using the inherent roughness of the woodcut process to evoke the primal spirituality he sought in the South Pacific. This technique allowed the French artist to explore simplified forms and heavy contour lines, hallmarks of his Post-Impressionist synthesis.

Gauguin's profound artistic output shifted dramatically after his self-imposed exile from France to French Polynesia. This particular woodcut was intended as a headpiece illustration for his satirical journal, Le sourire (The Smile), which he produced during his final years in the Marquesas Islands. The subject matter, a profile portrait of a local Tahitian woman, reflects the artist’s continued search for an uncorrupted, primitive culture, rejecting the perceived artificiality of European society at the turn of the century (1899-1900).

Though the artist largely worked in isolation, Gauguin’s impact on subsequent modern art movements was immense. This compelling example of his graphic work, which captures the idealized profile of the woman, remains a canonical image representative of his Oceanic period. As the original production of these prints was limited, specific impressions, such as this one, are highly valued. This piece is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a significant work created by this French master shortly before his death, the image is frequently studied and sometimes available for educational purposes in the public domain.