Delightful Land

Paul Gauguin

1893–94 · Woodcut printed in color on thin wove paper · Drawings and Prints

In this print Gauguin reimagines the Biblical story of the Fall. Eve is now a native Tahitian woman, the Garden of Eden a lush tropical paradise, the devilish serpent a fantastical winged lizard, and the apple from the Tree of Knowledge an exotic flower from a peacock-like plant. The right-hand border of the print is patterned much like the carved house-posts that Gauguin encountered in Tahiti. Adding to the cultural mix, Gauguin based Eve's statuesque figure on photographs of sculpted frieze from a Javanese Buddhist temple. The composition derives from an earlier painting by the artist (1892; Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki, Japan) which he further reworked in a series of drawings and monotypes.

Artist

Paul Gauguin

Date

1893–94

Medium

Woodcut printed in color on thin wove paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1936