Te Po

"Te Po" by Paul Gauguin is a significant colored woodcut print created between 1893 and 1894. Executed on wove paper meticulously lined with silk, this work showcases Gauguin’s radical departure from traditional European graphic arts during his first extended residence in Tahiti. He deliberately embraced the inherent textures and rough qualities of the woodcut technique to convey a sense of raw, elemental power, rejecting the precise linearity favored by many contemporary prints. This experimental approach elevated the medium from a reproductive tool into a vehicle for emotional and symbolic expression.

The work's title, which translates roughly to "The Deep Night" or "The Origin," relates directly to Polynesian cosmology concerning the creation of the world and the realm of darkness. Gauguin translated these complex mythological subjects into a simplified visual language dominated by bold contours and massive, flattened forms. The figures and landscape elements lean heavily toward abstraction, prioritizing symbolic meaning and overall design over naturalistic representation. This deliberate stylistic choice places Gauguin as a vital precursor to early modern abstraction, where form and color carry primary expressive weight.

As one of the most important prints from the artist's Tahitian output, Te Po reveals Gauguin’s sustained commitment to synthesizing non-Western cultural motifs with modernist formal concerns. The subtle, integrated application of color enhances the mysterious and profound quality of the scene. This print is classified within the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains a key artifact illustrating Gauguin’s pivotal role in the history of graphic arts and his profound influence on subsequent movements emphasizing conceptual abstraction.