Te faruru (Here We Make Love), from the Noa Noa Suite

Te faruru (Here We Make Love), from the Noa Noa Suite, is a profoundly complex wood-block print created by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903, between 1893 and 1894. This highly experimental piece demonstrates Gauguin's radical approach to the medium of prints, pushing the boundaries of traditional techniques. The artist employed multiple, intensive layers to achieve the desired effect, printing the wood block twice in golden-brown and black inks. Further pictorial richness was achieved through selective wiping of the black ink and the meticulous application of a yellow tone block.

The creation of the work involved a sophisticated mixed-media technique, incorporating transferred deep-yellow, red, and orange oil-based media-some containing beeswax and conifer resin (probably pine resin)-and finished with hand-applied dark yellow and brown gouache upon cream Japanese paper. This extensive manipulation of color and texture distinguishes the piece significantly from standard commercial printmaking and exemplifies Gauguin’s desire to synthesize painting and graphic arts.

Created upon Gauguin’s return to France from his first transformative trip to Tahiti, this print encapsulates the mythic and often sensual imagery central to the Noa Noa project, a collaborative travelogue chronicling his South Seas experiences. The work reflects Gauguin's persistent search for a primitive expression, challenging the academic constraints prevalent in nineteenth-century France. As a pivotal example of Post-Impressionist printmaking, this masterwork resides in the distinguished collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Images of this historical work, which demonstrate the complexity of Gauguin’s unique artistic process, are often made available through public domain archives for study and appreciation.