1950s After Paul Gauguin "La Orana Maria", First Edition Photogravure

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A stunning vintage First Edition offset lithograph after painting "We Greet Thee, Mary" (Ia Orana Maria) by Paul Gauguin. Comes … Read more A stunning vintage First Edition offset lithograph after painting "We Greet Thee, Mary" (Ia Orana Maria) by Paul Gauguin. Comes from a First Limited Edition art folio published in the mid 1950s. Signed in the print: "La Orana Maria". Printed on one side. Hand tipped on a board of heavy paper. Information regarding the original artwork will be found by lifting the plate. Very detailed. Colors are vivid and rich. Excellent condition - never framed.

Overall 10.90"W x 14.5"H
Image 7.75"W x 10.10"H

Paul Gauguin used here the tropical setting for a biblical scene. It is a strange attempt to infuse the luxuriance of a Tahitian background with the mysticism of the faith in which he himself had been raised. This painting strikes an absolutely unique note in Gauguin's work.

Early in 1892 Gauguin wrote to a friend: "I have painted a canvas: an angel with yellow wings who points out to two Tahitian women, the figures of Mary and Jesus, also Tahitians. Nudes dressed in pareos... In the background somber mountains and flowering trees. A dark purple road and an emerald green foreground. To the left some bananas. I am rather satisfied with it."

Indeed, Gauguin always considered this painting among his best insisted that it to be included in the various shows of his works held during his lifetime. It has all the tenderness of genuine religious emotion, combined with the exotic elements that had drawn Gauguin to the tropical island: the beauty of its women, the splendor of its vegetation, and the mysticism of the natives. See less