Te faruru (Here We Make Love) from Noa Noa (Fragrant Scent)

Te faruru (Here We Make Love) from Noa Noa (Fragrant Scent) is a pivotal woodcut created by Paul Gauguin in 1893. This compelling print is one component of the influential Noa Noa portfolio, a series of ten woodcuts that Gauguin conceived as illustrations for his accompanying manuscript, detailing his Tahitian experiences between 1891 and 1893. The creation of these prints marks a critical moment in Gauguin’s systematic exploration of Symbolism and Primitivism following his initial return to France.

Abandoning the conventional smoothness often associated with 19th-century French prints, Gauguin embraced the raw, visceral qualities inherent in the woodcut medium. He deliberately utilized the grain and imperfections of the wood block to create textures and deep, dark shadows, emphasizing the block's physical presence and contributing to the work's expressive power. In Te faruru, the scene depicts two stylized figures in an intimate pose, rendered with heavy outlines and a dramatically flat perspective characteristic of Gauguin’s style. This bold, abstracted visual vocabulary prioritized emotional and symbolic resonance over naturalistic depiction, establishing a new direction for modern prints.

The period of 1893–94 was characterized by Gauguin's intense processing of his time in the South Pacific. He sought to distill Polynesian myths and customs into universal, symbolic images, frequently employing titles in the Tahitian language. Although created by a French artist, the subject matter intentionally evokes a sense of the primal and the non-Western, reflecting the prevailing desire among the European avant-garde to reject existing bourgeois values. The work captures the essence of the exoticized paradise Gauguin sought to portray in his writings and art. This significant example of modern printmaking resides in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it serves as a key document of the artistic shifts happening at the close of the 19th century.