Noa Noa: The Tahiti Journal of Paul Gauguin (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) - Softcover

Gauguin, Paul; Collins, Wilkie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486248593 ISBN 13: 9780486248592

Publisher: Dover Publications Inc, 2003

Synopsis

A journal of the two years Gauguin spent in Tahiti, this work presents keen observations of the island and its people, and the artists' passionate struggle to achieve the inner harmony he expressed so profoundly on canvas. Gauguin's prose is as seductive as his paintings, filled with descriptions of warm seas, hidden lagoons, lush green forests, and beautiful Maori women. 24 black-and-white illustrations.

About this title

From the Back Cover

In 1894, Paul Gauguin came to the conclusion that European culture in general, and French culture in particular, was spiritually and morally bankrupt. So he left. On the eighth of June 1894 he arrived in Tahiti, an island of tropical warmth, impenetrable jungles, and--most importantly for Gauguin--unspoiled, undecadent, un-European, and extremely beautiful people.He luxuriated in this paradise for two years, producing some of this best and best-known paintings. But Gauguin left us another masterpiece that has languished in obscurity until now: his journal and the woodblocks he made to accompany it.|

Paul Gauguin fled what he called "filthy Europe" in 1891 to what he hoped would be an unspoiled paradise, Tahiti. He painted 66 magnificent can vases during the first two years he spent there and kept notes from which he later wrote Noa Noa--a journal recording his thoughts and impressions of that time.
Noa Noa--the most widely known of Gauguin's writings--is reproduced here from a rare early edition (1919), in a lucid translation capturing the artist's unpretentious style. Page after page reveals Gauguin's keen observations of Tahiti and its people, and his passionate struggle to achieve the inner harmony he expressed so profoundly on canvas. Gauguin's prose is as seductive as his paintings, filled with descriptions of warm seas, hidden lagoons, lush green forests, and beautiful Maori women.
The journal is captivating reading, offering a compelling autobiographical fragment of the soul of a genius and a rare glimpse of Oceanian culture. The brief periods of happiness Gauguin found among the Tahitians are eloquently expressed in his narrative. We understand the motives that drove him and gain a deeper appreciation of his art.
Today the manuscript provides unparalleled insight into Gauguin's thoughts as he strove to achieve spiritual peace, and into the wellsprings of a singular artistic style which changed the course of modern art. This wonderfully affordable edition--enhanced by 24 of Gauguin's South Seas drawings--makes a unique and passionate testament accessible to all art lovers.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover Publications Inc
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0486248593
• ISBN 13: 9780486248592
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96