Turin, at the Mastio della Cittadella an exhibition dedicated to Gauguin and his Polynesia

From March 1 to June 29, 2025, the Mastio della Cittadella - National Artillery Historical Museum in Turin will host the exhibition Gauguin. The Diary of Noa Noa and Other Adventures, curated by Vincenzo Sanfo, dedicated to the famous French painter. Produced by Navigare srl under the patronage of the Piedmont Region and the City of Turin, the exhibition features more than 160 works, all from private collections in Italy, France and Belgium, as well as from a number of French and Italian museum collections. These include more than 100 woodcuts, drawings and lithographs made by Gauguin, along with two works attributed to the artist: the oil on canvas Femme de Tahiti (1891) and the watercolor Paysage Tahitien. The centerpiece of the exhibition is 23 woodcuts from the Diary of Noa Noa (1893-94), written by Gauguin during his first stay in French Polynesia and enriched by his illustrations made using the woodengraving technique, printed by Daniel de Monfreid.

Distant and fascinating, Polynesia was viewed by the French of the time with a mixture of curiosity and distrust for its culture considered “primitive.” However, for Gauguin it became a land of choice, where he chose to settle for the last ten years of his life, in the last decade of the nineteenth century. This deep connection is also evident in the sixteen color lithographs of the Ancien Culte Mahorie series (1892), the two 1893 sculptures (one in terracotta and the other in bronze), and the Tahitian Woman’s Mask “Tehura” made in patinated bronze and from the Musée Despiau-Wlérick in France. The exhibition also includes a carnet of thirty-eight drawings, with sketches depicting studies of portraits, details of the human body and the animal world.

A prominent role will also be reserved for facsimile lithographic prints from Gauguin’s last writing, Avant et Après, completed two months before his death in 1903 and published posthumously. This sort of manifesto-diary collects notes and reflections on art, friendship and other themes dear to the painter. While Tahitian culture and everyday life profoundly influenced his work, equally significant were his ties with the West, France and his artist colleagues and friends.

The exhibition also features 45 works, including paintings, etchings and drawings, by thirteen leading figures in nineteenth-century French art. These include Vincent van Gogh, with 12 color lithographs; Jean-François Millet, represented by the etching L’Angelus; Adolphe Beaufrère, present with four etchings; and Louis Anquetin. And again, some exponents of the Nabis Group from Pont-Aven, Brittany: in particular, Maurice Denis whose lithographs with a religious subject will be on display, Émile Bernard with the series of six watercolor lithographs Bretonnières, flanked by one of his paintings on cardboard. And finally, Paul Sérusier with the oil on canvas L’Adieu à Gauguin, on loan from the Musée des beaux-arts in Quimper.

Also further enriching the exhibition are period photographs, books, documents and artifacts to offer an immersion into Gauguin’s world.

The exhibition born from an initiative of Ministry of Defense-Defense Services S.p.A. will be open Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Closed on Mondays.

Turin, at the Mastio della Cittadella an exhibition dedicated to Gauguin and his Polynesia

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.