The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 20, 2025
The Devil Speaks (Mahna No Varua Ino) (recto); Women Washing Clothes (verso)
1893–1894
(French, 1848–1903)
printer
(French, 1848–1903)
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.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
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.Description
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.- ?-?Henri M. Petiet, Paris?-2008(August Laube, Zurich, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)2008-Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- 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).
- {{cite web|title=The Devil Speaks (Mahna No Varua Ino) (recto); Women Washing Clothes (verso)|url=false|author=Paul Gauguin, Paul Gauguin|year=1893–1894|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2008.149