Young Maoris

The influential post-Impressionist Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903 created Young Maoris between 1896 and 1897. This print is notable for its innovative and complex technical execution, reflecting the artist’s dedicated experimentation with graphic arts late in his career. The work is a wood-block print, carefully printed twice using two separate color schemes to achieve depth and texture. Gauguin utilized yellow ocher and black ink, applying them onto cream wove notebook paper, which intriguingly features blue ruled lines, suggesting the immediate and available materials during his time in the South Pacific.

Created during Gauguin’s second and final period on the island of Tahiti, the work reflects his ongoing fascination with Polynesian culture and his effort to depict the indigenous people. The image provides an intimate, unidealized glimpse of island life. Gauguin often used Young Maoris and related prints as illustrations for his writings and personal journals, further emphasizing the personal scale of this production. As one of the key figures of Symbolism originating from France, Gauguin’s graphic work offers a raw, textural contrast to the smooth surfaces of his major oil paintings.

The layered printing technique results in a unique, heavily worked quality typical of the artist's late prints. The choice of media and the dual application of color illustrate Gauguin's sophisticated understanding of printmaking as a highly personal form of expression, often pushing the boundaries of the medium. This compelling piece is classified within the Art Institute of Chicago’s esteemed collection, contributing to the rich heritage of post-Impressionist prints available for study. While the physical artwork resides in Chicago, reproductions of Gauguin’s work are increasingly accessible through public domain initiatives.