Artwork Page for Eve

Details / Information for Eve

Eve

1898–99

Paul Gauguin

(French, 1848–1903)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
woodcut
Measurements
Sheet: 27 x 20.5 cm (10 5/8 x 8 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1991.158
Catalogue raisonné
G.57; M/K/J 42
State
I/II
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

In his quest to reconcile the Gospels of the New Testament with the spirit of modern science, Gauguin created 14 woodcuts that mix Christian and Polynesian imagery to create the visual equivalents of parables or fables. Here, Eve’s gesture of modesty recalls earlier representations of her expulsion from the Garden of Eden, but the disembodied hooded head, the tupapau (a Tahitian evil spirit), and the rat (the shadow of a ghost) are Polynesian symbols. Combining Eve, an image of guilt and violation, with Tahitian symbols of death increases the potency of the scene. This special impression of Eve is the only known example of the first state in which the black shape in the lower right is blank, before the block was changed; additional white lines appear on Eve and the rat.
A vertically oriented black ink print on off-white paper depicts a nude woman standing frontally, her long hair framing a hand held to her mouth. To her right, a figure's profile gazes toward her. On the left, a large, textured dark form rises, while a stylized nine sits within an oval in the top corner. Grainy, mottled ink and rough white highlights define the silhouettes, giving the scene a primitive quality.

Eve

1898–99

Paul Gauguin

(French, 1848–1903)
France, 19th century

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