The Rape of Europa, from the Suite of Late Wood-Block Prints 1898 - 1899

This is Paul Gauguin's 'The Rape of Europa,' a woodblock print made late in his career. The stark contrast comes from the simple method of cutting away at a block of wood, inking the surface, and pressing it onto paper. The material itself exerts a powerful influence here. Wood lends itself to bold, graphic forms, so the figures are simplified, almost abstracted. Look closely, and you can see the grain of the wood running through the image, a constant reminder of its origin. Gauguin was fascinated by non-Western art traditions, and woodcut was central to those. It was a way of bypassing the established art world, with its emphasis on oil painting and bronze sculpture, and connecting to something rawer, more immediate. The labor involved in creating a woodcut is considerable, requiring both physical strength and meticulous attention to detail. In prints like this, Gauguin wasn't just making an image; he was making a statement about the value of craft, and its power to challenge our expectations of what art can be.