Noa Noa: The Devil Speaks (Mahna No Varua Ino) (recto)

1893–1894

Noa Noa: The Devil Speaks (Mahna No Varua Ino) (recto), 1893–1894. Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903). Woodcut ; sheet: 20.5 x 32.1 cm (8 1/16 x 12 5/8 in.); image: 20.3 x 31.9 cm (8 x 12 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Jane B. Tripp Charitable Lead Annuity Trust 2008.149.a In 1893, Paul Gauguin returned to Paris from time spent in Tahiti. He began to conceive of a book that would describe his life outside Europe and provide context for the avant-garde works he created while away. This print is one of a series of ten intended to illustrate this book, which Gauguin titled Noa Noa. He carved each image roughly into a woodblock and printed them himself, giving the prints a rough quality that he hoped would enhance their subject matter. Because of this process, combined with the artist's practice of varying his inks and papers while working, prints such as this one are virtually unique. In 1921, Paul Gauguin's son Pola printed a new edition of his father's Noa Noa prints, wiping the woodblocks cleanly so the images were more legible.