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Manao Tupapau

Paul Gauguin

Artwork Details

Manao Tupapau
1894
Paul Gauguin
woodcut on paper
8 13/16 x 14 5/8 in. (22.38 x 37.15 cm);18 x 22 in. (45.72 x 55.88 cm);8 x 14 in. (20.32 x 35.56 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Florence L. Stol
1964/2.45

Tags

Description

In 1893 and 1894 Gauguin made three woodcuts on the same theme, all of which relate to the painting "Manao Tupapau (Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo), executed upon his return to Paris from his first Tahitian sojourn. All reflect his search for a mode of life integrated with the spiritual. The figure of his island mistress is shown in curled up, evoking both the fetal position and a primeval Tahitian burial posture. Gauguin understood the title to mean both "she thinks of the spirit" or "the spirit thinks of her." The sleeping form evokes the nighttime link to the dead, the past, and the unconscious.

Physical Description:

Full-length nude figure in fetal position viewed from behind

Usage Rights:

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