The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Eve

1898–99

Paul Gauguin

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

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.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 355
  • Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014).
    Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008).
    Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003).
    Inventive Impressions: 18th- and 19-Century French Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001).
  • {{cite web|title=Eve|url=false|author=Paul Gauguin|year=1898–99|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.158