Three People, a Mask, a Fox and a Bird, headpiece for Le sourire

"Three People, a Mask, a Fox and a Bird, headpiece for Le sourire," created by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903, in 1899, is a significant example of the artist's pioneering work in wood-block printmaking during his final years in the Pacific. This composition was executed using black ink on thin ivory laid Japanese paper, a deliberate material choice that highlights the strong textural contrast and the inherent graphic qualities of the woodcut. Gauguin treated the medium experimentally, often leaving the grain of the wood visible to enhance the primal or "savage" nature he sought in his aesthetic.

The print functioned as a headpiece for Le sourire (The Smile), Gauguin's self-published journal written from Tahiti, intended to articulate his controversial life and philosophy to his supporters back in France. The imagery is profoundly Symbolist, depicting a blend of human figures, an enigmatic mask, and symbolic fauna—specifically a fox and a bird. These elements reflect the artist's ongoing fascination with Polynesian mythology and the integration of indigenous forms into a distinctly European modern art framework. Gauguin utilized the stark, simplified forms inherent to relief prints to maximize the expressive power of these ambiguous narrative elements.

As a fine example of graphic arts, this work demonstrates the maturity of Gauguin’s style and his influential commitment to the revival of wood-block prints in the late nineteenth century. The ability to produce multiple prints allowed the artist to disseminate his complex visual iconography widely. Today, this definitive impression of Three People, a Mask, a Fox and a Bird, headpiece for Le sourire is preserved within the distinguished permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.