Art Institute of Chicago

Decorated Wooden Box

Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903)

Date

1884

Medium

Stained wood with iron, leather, and inlaid with two netsuke masks

Culture

France

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Paul Gauguin experimented with techniques in a variety of media including ceramics, woodcut print, sculpture, and wood carving. In high and low relief across the front of this box, the artist fashioned dancers reminiscent of those seen in the work of his contemporary Edgar Degas . On the back, Gauguin inlaid Japanese fasteners, called netsuke, shaped as miniature masks. Inside, he hewed a rough, macabre human figure inspired by oak coffins of the Danish Bronze Age, which the artist saw in late 1884 while visiting his wife’s family in Copenhagen. The box showcases Gauguin’s curiosity about global art forms, which he appropriated and combined in the service of his own creative vision.

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.