The Day of God

The Day of God is a powerful woodcut created by Paul Gauguin between 1894 and 1895. This significant print, executed on delicate china paper, exemplifies Gauguin’s innovative and rough-hewn approach to the graphic medium. Although much of his painted work depicts scenes encountered during his time in Tahiti, this particular print was developed after his initial return to France, serving as a concentrated memory and symbolic interpretation of Polynesian spiritual life. Gauguin utilized the reductionist nature of the woodcut to achieve rough, emphatic outlines and dramatic contrasts, moving decisively away from conventional printmaking techniques of the era.

The composition features several stylized human figures arranged in a dense, symbolically charged scene. The forms are simplified, reflecting Gauguin’s Symbolist tendencies and his ongoing engagement with primitivism. These figures are often interpreted as taking part in creation myths or ancient ceremonies, embodying the elemental power of nature and faith. The expressive texture inherent in the woodcut technique gives the entire surface a vibrating energy, distinct from the flatness found in Gauguin’s paintings of the same period.

This piece exists in various editions, including those printed entirely in black ink, demonstrating Gauguin’s commitment to making his prints accessible as autonomous works of art. Cataloged as a vital example of late nineteenth-century Symbolism, the work is currently housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The graphic experiments represented in The Day of God proved highly influential, ensuring that Gauguin’s prints remain crucial documents of modern art.