Te po (The Night), from the Noa Noa Suite, is a profound wood-block print created by Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903) between 1893 and 1894. This specific impression, printed in black ink on delicate grayish-ivory China paper, is part of the pivotal series Gauguin developed to accompany his autobiographical travelogue, Noa Noa (Fragrant Scent), which documented his first sustained period in Tahiti.
The medium of the woodcut was intentionally embraced by Gauguin for its raw, powerful aesthetic, allowing him to achieve a visual language he felt was appropriate for depicting non-Western subjects and spiritual themes. While the artist carved the blocks himself during his time in France, this impression was printed later by his son, Pola Gauguin, and subsequently published by Christian Cato in Copenhagen, attesting to the enduring significance of these prints.
The composition of Te po (The Night) explores Polynesian mythology and the artist’s fascination with Tahitian spiritual life. Gauguin depicts shadowy, monolithic figures emerging from darkness, suggesting the primordial mystery of night and the profound connection between the figures and the natural world. The rough textures and simplified forms inherent to the wood-block print technique underscore Gauguin’s aesthetic move away from academic realism toward Symbolism. This influential example of graphic arts is housed in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
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