The Devil Speaks (Mahna No Varua Ino) (recto); Women Washing Clothes (verso)
1894
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1894
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see two rough, carved images on one sheet: on one side, a horned devil whispering to a crouched figure; on the other, women scrubbing clothes in a river. Gauguin made these prints himself after returning from Tahiti. He wanted them to feel raw, like the stories he was telling. The woodblock prints have a jagged, handmade look—almost like the images are fighting to break free. If you like this, look up *impasto*—a technique where paint is laid on thick, like Gauguin’s carved lines here.
