The Universe is Created (L'Univers est créé)

c. 1894

Paul Gauguin

Associated Names
Paul Gauguin

Artist, French, 1848 - 1903

The image displays swirling lines and amorphous shapes that converge in an abstract composition. White shapes resembling waves or clouds cascade across a dark background. Among the layers, there is a humanoid figure on the left, kneeling. The right side features intricate lines and shapes resembling a face and elongated limbs, adding depth and complexity to the abstract work.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut in tan, red-brown, red and black [trial proof]

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 20.5 x 35.6 cm (8 1/16 x 14 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1947.12.56

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Mongan et al. 1988, no. 18, State ii/ii (B)

  • Series Title

    Noa Noa Suite

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1965

  • Dedicatory Art Exhibition for the William Cooper Procter Art Center, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, 1965, no. 24.

1982

  • Lessing J. Rosenwald: Tribute to a Collector, NGA, 1982, no. 98, repro.

1988

  • The Art of Paul Gauguin, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and Grand Palais, Paris, 1988-1989, no. 174a.

1997

  • The Private Collection of Edgar Degas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1997-1998, no. 500, as The Universe is Created (L'Univers est cree).

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. 174a.

Wikidata ID

Q65081677

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