Parau na te Varua ino (Words of the Devil)

1892

Paul Gauguin

Painter, French, 1848 - 1903

A nude woman with brown skin and long black hair stands to our right against a landscape swirling with jewel-toned greens, pinks, and purples while a man, also with brown skin, sits under a tree behind her in this stylized vertical painting. The woman's body is angled to our right, and she cuts her black eyes back to look off to our left. She touches her chin with the fingertips of her right hand, closer to us, while her left hand holds a white cloth over her groin. The ground beneath her is swirled with bright pink, lilac purple, and some strokes of canary yellow. To our left and behind the woman, the man wears a topaz-blue robe, and he kneels with his hands on his knees. A band of vivid orange and kelly green in front of his knees could be abstracted flowers. His oval face is rimmed with a band of black. He has a wide nose, and his pink lips are parted to reveal his teeth. His eyes are wide open as he looks down under black brows. A craggy, dark teal-blue tree trunk curves up and across the background, and a red and green faced serpent floats near the upper right corner. The artist signed, dated, and inscribed the title in the lower left corner, "P Gauguin 92 Parau na te Varua ino."

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Lured to Tahiti in 1891 by reports of its unspoiled culture, Gauguin was disappointed by its civilized capital and moved to the countryside, where he found an approximation of the tropical paradise he had expected. The Tahiti of his depictions was derived from native folklore supplemented by material culled from books written by earlier European visitors and overlaid with allusions to western culture. The pose of the standing nude, for instance, is derived from a medieval statue of the biblical Eve and more distantly from the Venus Pudica of classical sculpture. The artist placed this rich combination of references to original sin, the loss of virginity, and occidental standards of beauty and art within the context of his Tahitian mythology and primitive, non–European aesthetics.

The meaning of the title Parau na te Varua ino is unclear. The phrase varua ino, evil spirit or devil, refers to the masked kneeling figure and parau means words, suggesting the interpretation "Words of the Devil." The meaning of many of Gauguin's Tahitian paintings remains elusive. There is little likelihood that Gauguin's original audience would have been able to interpret the Tahitian legends that Gauguin carefully inscribed on most of the 66 paintings he took back to Paris in 1892.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 83

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist; (Gauguin sale, Paris, 18 February 1895, no. 10, bought in); (purchased 17 October 1900 through George-Daniel de Manfreid [1856-1929] Paris, by Ambroise Vollard [1867-1939], Paris);[1] sold on 30 May 1906, for 4000 francs, to Alexandre Berthier, 4th Prince de Wagram (1883-1918);[2] returned possibly due to non-settlement of bill to Vollard, stock no. 5453, by 1910.[3](Paul Rosenberg, Paris, by 1928).[4] Millet, Paris. Phileas Pluckett, Manchester, England.[5] Paul Guillaume [1891-1934], Paris; sold 1930 to Marie N. Harriman [1903-1970] and W. Averell Harriman [1891-1986], New York;[6] the W. Averell Harriman Foundation, New York; gift 1972 to NGA.
[1] A receipt for that date from Manfreid to Vollard lists “quatre toiles de Gauguin (anciennes) marquées au dos H - E - AG - Y- faisant partie précédemment de l'inventaire dressée par Chaudet pour le compte de Gauguin [...]” (four canvases by Gauguin (old) marked on the back H – E – AG – Y - previously part of the inventory drawn up by Chaudet on behalf of Gauguin) where AG referred to_Parau Na Te Varua ino_, as noted in the entry for the painting in the catalogue raisonné of Gauguin paintings 1891–1903 by the Wildenstein-Plattner Institute. The entry also gives detailed information about the consignments of the painting between the 1895 sale and its 1900 purchase by Vollard. See https://digitalprojects.wpi.art/gauguin/artworks/detail?title=parau%20na%20te%20varua&a=71635-parau-na-te-varua-ino.
[2] As revealed by a letter dated 11 June 1906 from Vollard to the Prince de Wagram recording: ‘tableau en hauteur femme nue se cachant le sexe; derrière l’esprit du mal, 4000 francs’, one among a bulk purchase of six Tahitian canvases made by the Prince on 30 May 1906. MS 421. Cited by Suzanne Diffre and Marie-Josèphe Lesieur in ‘Gauguin dans les archives Vollard du musée d’Orsay,’ Gauguin-Tahiti, L’Atelier des tropiques, Paris, 2003: 353.
[3] The painting was lent by Vollard to Manet and the Post-Impressionists, Grafton Galleries, London, 1910-1911, no. 43, as L'Esprit du mal, per Donald Gordon, Modern Art Exhibitions: 1900-1916: Selected Catalogue Documentation, Munich, 1976: 436. Vollard also lent the painting to the 1913 Armory show as Spirit of Evil and offered it for sale there (see Archives of American Art, Washington, D.C.: Walt Kuhn Family Papers and Armory Show Records, 1.3 European Entry Cards and 1.4 Notes).
[4] See the inventory list from the Rosenberg records, available at the Musée d’Orsay website under Fonds de la galerie Rosenberg. https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/node/199562.
[5] Millet and Pluckett information according to Marie Harriman record, which indicate the title Paroles du diable and inventory 1004.
[6] According to Harriman collection records in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1893

  • Exposition d'Oeuvres récentes de Paul Gauguin, Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1893, no. 10, as Parua no Varua Ino (Paroles du Diablo)

1894

  • La Première Exposition à Bruxelles, La Libre Esthétique, Brussels, 1894, no. 192, as Paroles du diable "Parau nate Vanua ino"

1910

  • Manet and the Post-Impressionists, Grafton Galleries, London, 1910-1911, no. 43, as L'Esprit du mal

1913

  • International Exhibition of Modern Art [The Armory Show], Association of American Painters and Sculptors, Armory of the Sixty-Ninth Infantry, New York, 1913, no. 175; Art Institute of Chicago, no. 138; Copley Society of Boston, Copley Hall, no. 55.

1922

  • Exposition d'Oeuvres de Grandes Mâitres du Dix-Neuvième Siècle, Paul Rosenberg, Paris, 1922, no. 41

1928

  • Salon d'Automne, Grand Palais, Paris, 1928, no. 2297, as L'éveil de la pudeur

1930

  • Opening Exhibition, Marie Harriman Gallery, New York, 1930, exhibition pamphlet, no. 11

1931

  • Old and Modern Masters in the New York Art Market from the collections of Leading New York Dealers, American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, New York, 1931, no. 57, as Paroles du Diablo

1932

  • French Painting, Marie Harriman Gallery, New York, 4-16 April, 1932, no cat.

1933

  • A Century of Progress. The Art Institute of Chicago, 1933, no. 352, as At the Edge of the Forest (Parau Na Te Varua Ino)

1934

  • Exhibition of French Painting from the Fifteenth Centiry to the Present Day, The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1934, no. 102, repro., as At the Edge of the Forest

1935

  • The Post Impressionists, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1935, no cat., as At the Edge of the Forest

  • One Hundred Years French Painting 1820-1920, The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and The Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, MO, 1935, no. 28, as At the Edge of the Forest (Parau na te Varu [sic] ino)

1936

  • Paul Gauguin 1848-1903, The Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1936, no. 24, as At the Edge of the Forest, Parau na te Varua ino

  • Paul Gauguin 1848-1903, A Retrospective Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of Les Amis de Paul Gauguin and The Penn Normal Industrial and Agricultural School, Wildenstein & Co., New York, 1936, no. 26, as At the Edge of the Forest, Parau...

  • Paul Gauguin 1848-1903, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1936, no. 15, as At the Edge of the Forest, Parau na te Varua ino

  • Cezanne - Gauguin. The Toledo Museum of Art, 1936, no. 5, repro., as Edge of the Forest, Parau na te Varua ino.

  • Paul Gauguin Exhibition of Paintings and Prints, San Francisco Museum of Art, 1936, no. 16, repro., as At the Edge of the Forest (Parau na te Varua ino)

1938

  • Relationships between French Literature and Painting in the Nineteenth Century, The Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Ohio State University, 1938, no. 15, as At the Edge of the Forest.

1939

  • Classics of the Nude - for the Benefit of the Lisa Day Nursery, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1939, no. 30, as At the Edge of the Forest (Parua no te varua ino.)

  • Modern French Masters, Marie Harriman Gallery, New York, 1939, no. 5

1940

  • Origins of Modern Art, The Arts Club of Chicago, 1940, no. 57, as At the Edge of the Forest

1941

  • Aspects of French Painting from Cezanne to Picasso, Los Angeles County Museum, 1941, no. 21, repro., as Paroles du diable

1949

  • Paul Gauguin zum 100. Geburtsjahr, Kunstmuseum Basel, 1949- 1950, no. 47, as Paroles du diable

1950

  • Gauguin: Exposition du Centenaire, Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, 1950, no. 21

1954

  • Paul Gauguin, His Place in the Meeting of East and West, Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, 1954, no. 24, repro., as Paroles du diable

1955

  • Albany Institute of History and Art, 1955, no cat.

1956

  • Loan Exhibition - Gauguin - For the Benefit of The Citizens' Committee for Children of New York City, Inc., Wildenstein & Co., 1956, no. 32, repro.

  • French Painting of the Last Half of the Nineteenth Century, The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, 1956, unnumbered checklist, repro., as Paroles du diable

  • A Loan Exhibition, Nude in Painting - For the Benefit of Recording for the Blind, Inc., Wildenstein & Co., New York, 1956, no. 36, repro.

1959

  • Gauguin, Art Institute of Chicago; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1959, no. 42, repro.

1961

  • Exhibition of the Marie and Averell Harriman Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1961, unnumbered catalogue, repro. 25

1963

  • 1913 Armory Show - 50th Anniversary, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY; Armory of the Sixty-ninth Regiment, NY, 1963 [shown in Utica only]

1973

  • Dimensions of Polynesia, Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego, 1973, no. XII.6, repro., as Parua na te varua ino, Words from the Evil Spirit

1977

  • Paris - New York, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, 1977, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

1980

  • Post-Impressionism: Cross-Currents in European and American Painting 1880-1906, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980, not in cat.

1986

  • Capolavori Impressionisti dei Musei Americani, Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte, Naples; Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, 1986-1987, no. 20, repro.

1988

  • The Art of Paul Gauguin, National Gallery of Art, Washington; The Art Institute of Chicago; Grand Palais, Paris, 1988-1989, no. 147, repro.

1989

  • Gogen: Vzgliad iz Rossli, The State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad and the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, 1989, no. 27, repro.

1995

  • Lost Paradise: Symbolist Europe, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1995, no. 132, ill. no. 107.

1998

  • Paul Gauguin, Tahiti, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Germany, 1998, no. 39, repro.

  • Paul Gauguin: Das verlorene Paradies, Museum Folkwang Essen; Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 1998-1999, no. 23, repro.

1999

  • Loan to display with permanent collection, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1999.

2000

  • Art Nouveau, 1890-1914, Victoria and Albert Museum, London; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, 2000-2001, no. 123 (shown only in Washington).

2003

  • Gauguin-Tahiti, L'atelier des tropiques, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2003-2004, no. 89, repro.

2007

  • Il Simbolismo: Da Moreau a Gauguin a Klimt, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome, 2007, no. 20, repro.

2010

  • Gauguin: Maker of Myth, Tate, London; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2010-2011, no. 101, repro.

2013

  • The Armory Show at 100: Modernism and Revolution, The New-York Historical Society, New York, 2013-2014, fig. 293.

2014

  • Gauguin: Metamorphoses, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2014, no. 126, repro.

Bibliography

1910

  • "Anarchy in High Art." The Tatler 491 (23 November 1910): 228 repro. but not discussed in text.

1913

  • Cox, K. "The Modern Spirit in Art." Harper's Weekly 57, no. 2934 (15 March 1913): 10.

1919

  • Morice, Charles. Paul Gauguin. Paris, 1919: repro.

1925

  • Rotonchamp, Jean. Paul Gauguin 1848-1903. Paris, 1925: 137.

1930

  • Alexandre, Arsène. Paul Gauguin: Sa vie et le Sens de son Oeuvre. Paris, 1930: 262.

1933

  • Bulliet, C.J. "A Century of Progress in Collecting." Parnassus 5, no. 4 (March 1933): repro.

  • Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Art in the Century of Progress." The Fine Arts 20, no. 2 (June 1933): repro.

1936

  • Bulliet, C. J. The Significant Moderns and Their Pictures. New York, 1936: repro. no. 76.

1938

  • Bowie, T.R. "Word & Picture Relationships: French Romanitc Painters and Authors in a Study Exhibition." Art News 36, no. 34 (21 May 1938): repro.

1941

  • "Cezanne to Picasso." Art Digest 11, no. 11 (1 March 1941): 20, repro.

1949

  • Leymarie, J. Gauguin: Exposition du Centenaire. Exh. Cat. Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, 1949: 46.

1950

  • Lewandowski, Herbert. Paul Gauguin, oder, Die Flucht vor der Zivilisation. Bern, 1950: 348.

1953

  • Dorra, H. "The First Eves in Gauguin's Garden." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 41 (March 1953): 201, repro.

1956

  • Rewald, John. Post-Impressionism. New York, 1956: 513, repro.

1959

  • Schwartz, M.D. "Gauguin at the Metropolitan Museum." Apollo 69, no. 412 (June 1959): 198, repro.

1961

  • Schneeberger, Pierre-Francis. Gauguin-Tahiti. Lausanne, 1961: 26, repro.

1963

  • "Armory Show Restaged on 50th Anniversary." Progressive Architecture 44 (April 1963): 63, repro.

  • Brown, Milton W. The Story of the Armory Show. New York, 1963: 174, 175, 244, no. 175.

1964

  • Wildenstein, Georges. Gauguin. 2 vols. Paris, 1964: no. 458.

1967

  • Dorra, Henri. "More on Gauguin's Eves." Gazette des Beaux-Arts series 6, vol. 69 (February 1967): 110, repro.

  • Danielsson, Bengt. "Gauguin's Tahitian Titles." The Burlington Magazine 109, no. 769 (April 1967): 230.

1972

  • Sugana, Gabriele Mandel. Tout l'ouevre peint de Gauguin. Milan, 1972: no. 279, repro.

  • "Recent Acquisitions of American and Canadian Museums." Art Quarterly 35 (Autumn 1972): 332, repro.

1973

  • "La Chronique des Arts." Gazette des Beaux-Arts suppl. 81, no. 1249 (February 1973): 151, repro.

  • Amishai-Maisels, Ziva. "Gauguin's 'Philasophical Eve'." The Burlington Magazine 115 (June 1973): 373, 374, 377,378, 381, 382, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 148, repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: repro. 528.

1977

  • Field, Richard. Paul Gauguin: The Paintings of the First Voyage to Tahiti. New York, 1977: 123.

1981

  • Sugana, Gabriele Mandel. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Gauguin. Paris, 1981: no. 279, repro.

1983

  • Teilhet-Fisk, Jenahhe. Paradue Reviewed: An Interpretation of Gauguin's Polynesian Symbolism. Ann Arbor, 1983: 74-77, repro.

  • Vance, Mary Lynn Zink. "Gauguin’s Polynesian pantheon as a visual language." Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1983.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 524, no. 785, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 169, repro.

1987

  • Thomson, Belinda. Gauguin. London, 1987: 142, repro.

1988

  • Bretell, Richard R. The Art of Paul Gauguin. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Art Institute of Chicago; Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris. Washington, D.C., 1988: 266-268, no. 147, repro.

  • Vandepitte, Francisca. "Het Exotisme bij Gauguin." Gentse Bijdragen tot de Kunstgeschiedenis en Oudheidkunde 27 (1988): 118-119, repro.

1989

  • Solomon-Godeau, Abigail. "Going Native." Art in America 77, no. 7 (July 1989): repro. 118.

1990

  • Beall, John. "Gauguin's Uncanny Nude: Manao tupapau." Rutgers Art Review 11 (1990): 42-43.

  • Brooks, Peter. "Gauguin's Tahitian Body." The Yale Journal of Criticism 3, no. 2 (Spring 1990): repro.

1991

  • Dorra, Henri. “Gauguin et l’emancipation de la femme.” In Gauguin: Actes du colloque Gauguin, Musée d’Orsay, 11–13 janvier 1989. Paris, 1991: 185-199.

1992

  • National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 201, repro.

1993

  • Christensen, Carol. "The Painting Materials and Technique of Paul Gauguin." Studies in the History of Art 41 (1993): 75-78, repro. no. 8, repro. no. 10.

  • Thomson, Belinda, ed. Gauguin by Himself. New York, 1993: no. 175, repro.

1997

  • Damigella, Anna Maria. Paul Gauguin: la vita e l'opera. Milan, 1997: 168-169, repro.

1998

  • Naubert-Riser, Constance. Jean McEwen: Poémes Barbares. Paris, 1998: 10, repro.

1999

  • Feldman, Ruth. Van Gogh to Picasso: The Moshe and Sara Mayer Collection. Tel Aviv, 1999: repro. 58.

  • Mathews, Patricia. Passionate Discontent: Creativity, Gender, and French Symbolist Art. Chicago, 1999: repro.

2000

  • Art Nouveau, 1890-1914. Exh. cat. Victoria & Albert Museum, London; National Gallery of Art, Washington; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. London, 2000: no. 123.

  • Paul Gauguin: Von der Bretagne nach Tahiti. Ein Aufbruch zur Moderne. Exh. cat. Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, 2000: 142, repro.

2001

  • Zafran, Eric M., ed. Gauguin's Nirvana: Painters at Le Pouldu 1889-90. Exh. cat., Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, 2001: 117-118, repro.

2004

  • Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 376, no. 307, color repro.

2010

  • Gruetzner Robins, Anna. "'Manet and the Post-Impressionists': a checklist of the exhibits." The Burlington Magazine 152 (December 2010): 786, repro. 787.

2013

  • Gamboni, Dario. Paul Gauguin au “centre mystérieux de la pensée". Dijon, 2013: 317, repro. 319.

  • Madeline, Laurence. “Fall or Rebirth: Eve in the Work of Gauguin.” In The Nude from Gauguin to Bonnard. Edited by Véronique Serrano. Exh. cat. Musée Bonnard, Cannet. Milan, 2013: 62, repro.

  • Gratta, Eva. "'The New Spirit' 100 Years Later." Fine Arts Connoisseur September/October 2013: 51, repro.

2014

  • Amel, Pascal. Paul Gauguin: portrait de l’artiste en prophète bénéfique. Paris, 2014: repro. 60, 61–62.

  • Figura, Starr, ed. Gauguin: Metamorphoses. Exh. cat. Museum of Modern Art. New York, 2014: repro. 168, 169.

2015

  • Welten, Ruud. “Paul Gauguin and the Complexity of the Primitivist Gaze.” Journal of Art Historiography 12 (2015): 12.

  • Wright, Alastair. “Fallen Vision: Gauguin in Polynesia.” In Paul Gauguin. Edited by Raphaël Bouvier and Martin Schwander. Exh. cat. Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel. Ostfildern, 2015: 168, color repro. 173.

  • Jakobi, Marianne. Gauguin, Signac: la genèse du titre contemporain. Paris, 2015: 115, repro. 159.

Inscriptions

lower left: P Gauguin 92 / Parau na te Varua ino

Wikidata ID

Q20190327

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