Mahna no Varua Ino (The Devil Speaks)

1894

Paul Gauguin

Associated Names
Paul Gauguin

Artist, French, 1848 - 1903

Louis Roy

Printer, French, 1862 - 1907

The image displays swirling lines and organic shapes in an abstract composition. The design evokes the movement of flames or flowing fabric, with orange hues suggesting a fiery or sunset-like appearance. On the left, a cluster of darker shapes with curved lines resembles a group of figures or silhouettes. Above, green and black lines suggest a grove of trees or rolling hills. The image merges abstract art with motifs reminiscent of nature and human presence.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    color woodcut on Japan paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 20.2 × 35.5 cm (7 15/16 × 14 in.)
    sheet: 24.9 × 39.9 cm (9 13/16 × 15 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1950.17.81

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Mongan et al. 1988, no. 19, State iv/iv (D)

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Ottokar Mascha (1852-1929, Vienna [Lugt 1904]; Heinrich Stinnes (1867-1932), Cologne [Lugt 4436]

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1956

  • Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL; and The Lowe Gallery, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 1956, no. 57.

1988

  • The Art of Paul Gauguin, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988, no. 175f.

Bibliography

1927

  • Guérin, Marcel. L'Oeuvre gravé de Gauguin. 2 vols. Paris: H. Floury, 1927.

1988

  • Mongan, Elizabeth, Eberhard W. Kornfeld, and Harold Joachim. Paul Gauguin: Catalogue Raisonne of his Prints. Berne: Galerie Kornfeld, 1988.

  • The Art of Paul Gauguin. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1988: no. 175f.

Inscriptions

recto: in block, at lower left: PGO MAHNA NO VARUA INO; at upper right, in graphite, in later hand: 5; at lower left, in graphite, later hand: 2

Markings

recto: Ottokar Mascha (Lugt 1904) and Heinrich Stinnes (Lugt 4436); verso: Ottokar Mascha (Lugt 1904) annotated in graphite: 786/e

Wikidata ID

Q65363979

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