Te arii vahine—opoi (Woman with Mangos—Tired), from the Suite of Late Wood-Block Prints

Te arii vahine—opoi (Woman with Mangos—Tired), from the Suite of Late Wood-Block Prints by Paul Gauguin, French, 1848-1903, represents a powerful example of the artist's engagement with Polynesian culture during his final years in the South Seas. Created between 1898 and 1899, this intimate work captures a moment of quiet repose, depicting a figure characterized by stylized, simplified forms typical of Gauguin's Post-Impressionist approach.

The medium itself is critical to the work's texture and mood. This piece is a wood-block print executed in black ink on thin ivory Japanese paper, a specialized choice that reflects the artist’s deep appreciation for non-Western artistic traditions. The printed paper has been partially laid down on a supporting sheet of white Japanese paper, enhancing the visual contrast and imparting a rough, earthy quality to the composition.

The subject matter depicts a Tahitian woman seated or reclined, perhaps weary from labor, alongside a bowl of mangos. Gauguin often used such images to reflect on the perceived purity and exoticism of island life, contrasting the subject’s environment with the industrialized culture of France he had left behind. Unlike his earlier paintings, these late prints demonstrate a deliberate primitivism and expressionistic vigor, using broad cuts in the woodblock to achieve maximum emotional effect rather than descriptive detail.

Gauguin championed the wood-block print as a serious artistic medium, transforming it from a simple reproductive tool into a vehicle for expressive narrative. This enduring commitment to the medium is evident in the dynamic quality of Te arii vahine—opoi (Woman with Mangos—Tired). The work, recognized as a significant piece in the artist’s oeuvre, is housed in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, providing essential documentation of his final stylistic evolution.