Paul Gauguin 1848-1903

The very rare woodcut, two impressions printed side by side on the same sheet from two separate printings of the same block in black, 1894, the right hand woodcut extensively heightened with black ink around the subject, an atmospheric impression,  Kornfeld cites both these impressions, he records only  17 other impressions of this highly important subject, both  woodcuts printed on the reverse of mahna no varua ino (the devil speaks)(kornfeld 19)  woodcut in black, yellow, rose and cinnamon,  on japan paper, with margins, in good condition, the paper has a small fissure in the right hand image of oviri this may well have been in the paper at the time of printing as ink has caught in the gap, a minor skinned area at lower left corner of sheet and in the left margin well away from image, brown paper tape along extreme lower edge of sheet, some minor handling marks possibly associated with printing

Gustave Fayet and thence by direct descent.

Brettel in, Richard Brettel, Françoise Cachin, Claire Frèches-Thory., Charles E. Stuckey The Art of Paul Gaugin, Exhbition Catalogue, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., The Art Institute of Chicago, 1988, pp 369-376 states that "the woodblock for Oviri is unique in Gauguin's Oeuvre because of the manner in which it was printer.  In Pont-Aven during the summer, Gauguin had experimented with this methods of inking the block.  The impressions of Oviri take this experimental inking to extremes that defy description.  Indeed, most of the surviving impressions seem not to have been printed with printer's ink, but with mixtures of oil paint, ink, and solvents dabbed either on the block or possibly on a secondary support like rough canvas or cardboard and then trasnferred to the block.  For this reason, the figure of Oviri seems to arise from a primordial ooze of earthy blackness... She is a primal androgyne in a setting that is defined only by the flame like leaves of a palm treee with no trunk, no roots, and ultimately, no reality."

Brettell goes on to say that the monumental stoneware sculpture of Oviri, executed by the artist in 1894, now in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris (pictured left) is only one manifestation of that mysterious creature.  Aside from the seventeen or so recorded impressions of the wood-cut, all of which are uniquely printer, there are two coloured transfers, two related prints and at least one drawing.

This sculpture is probably his greatest work in this discipline.  In both the sculpture and woodcuts, the goddess is a woman of monstrous proportions with a moonstruck expresssion, she crushes a wolf that lies at ther feet in a pool of blood. She clutches a wolf cub to her, a symbol of her wild power, thoguh we do not know if she is smothering the creature or hugging it.

Brettell argues that the title Oviri is by no means unequivocal; however, it is clear that the dominant notion is that of the savage.  The work embodies Gauguin's ambition to reestablish contact with a primitive state of nature and to turn his back on Western civilisation, by definition pernicious and corrupt....

In primitive mythology, 'Oviri-moe-aihere' (the savage who sleeps in the wild forest) is one of the Gods who preside over death and mourning.  'Oviri' meaning 'wild' or 'savage' in Tahitian, is also the title of a melancholy Tahitian song transcribed by Gauguin in the orginal manuscript for Noa Noa.

The only other recorded impression of a double Oviri: one in which two impressions are on the same sheet, is in the Art Institute in Chicago. However, in this case, the two impressions were mounted together on cardboard rather than printer side by side ont he same sheet.  This double impression is of the utmost rarity.