Plate with the Head of a Horned Devil (Planche au diable cornu)
1895
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1895
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This print shows a dark, dreamy scene with a group of people gathered around a fire. A horned figure looms in the background, half-hidden by trees and shadows. The shapes are simple, almost like a sketch, and the whole image feels a little eerie. The artist used a woodcut technique, which means they carved the design into wood and pressed ink into it. This made the lines sharp and the tones mostly black and white. Check out how Gauguin used woodcut to create this spooky, stylized world.
