Paul Gauguin, Manao Tupapau (Manao Tupapau), 1894
Paul Gauguin’s quest for mysticism
Paul Gauguin literally travelled the world in search of the lost paradise. His print Manau Tupapau expresses the fears of a Tahitian girl through a highly personal mix of mystical symbolism that is hard to decipher.
Like most Symbolists, he resisted attempts to decipher his work, which he felt would simply dissipate the mystery.
Maurice Denis, Mary Magdalene (Two Heads) (Madeleine (Deux têtes)), 1893
Maurice Denis: ‘He who mystics’
In 1899 the trendy satirical paper Père Ubu bestowed nicknames on numerous modern artists. Maurice Denis was dubbed ‘he who mystics’ (‘Celui qui mystique’).
It’s not a bad soubriquet for this artist, who managed to combine his Catholic faith, his poetic nature and his artistic ambitions in modern, mystical prints.
He used arabesques, colours and patterns to offer his own, distinctive interpretation of iconic figures like Mary and Christ, who represented the purity and serenity with which he wanted to touch the souls of his viewers directly.
Further reading
- Alfred Jarry, Almanach du Père Ubu, Paris, 1899
- Pierre-Louis Mathieu, La génération symboliste, Geneva, 1990
- Henri Dorra (ed.), Symbolist Art Theories: A Critical Anthology, Berkeley, 1994