Te Po (The Long Night)

Te Po (The Long Night) is a significant collaborative print created by Paul Gauguin and Louis Roy between 1894 and 1895. Classified as a color woodcut, this piece exemplifies the artistic experimentation and shift toward Symbolism prevalent among French artists during the 1876 to 1900 period. The medium of the woodcut was intentionally embraced by Gauguin for its primal, graphic qualities, allowing him to bypass the naturalistic tendencies of conventional painting and align his work with a more spiritual, non-Western aesthetic. While Gauguin typically provided the design, Roy, an expert engraver, played a crucial technical role in translating the intricate drawings into the demanding relief process required for the final prints.

The artwork’s title, which translates from Tahitian as "The Long Night" or "The Profound Darkness," reflects Gauguin’s deep engagement with Polynesian culture and mythology following his first trip to the South Pacific. This period marked a critical phase where the artist sought to synthesize his European Symbolist training with the visual and narrative structures of Oceanic traditions. The dense composition features flattened, simplified forms and restricted color choices, typical of Gauguin’s Synthetist style. These visual choices enhance the mysterious and brooding mood of the nocturnal subject matter, suggesting an exploration of existence, creation myths, or deep spiritual contemplation rather than a literal landscape.

The innovative techniques employed by Gauguin and Roy in creating such complex color woodcuts established new parameters for the graphic arts in the late 19th century. Te Po illustrates the artist’s commitment to producing graphic works that stood equal to his paintings in artistic intent and complexity. This key work resides in the distinguished collection of the National Gallery of Art, offering scholars and the public an essential example of Post-Impressionist printmaking. Gauguin’s influential approach to form and myth in pieces like this continues to resonate in modern art history.