Le Sourire

Front page of Le Sourire dedicated to the painter and art collector George-Daniel de Monfreid

Le Sourire was a monthly periodical published by the French artist Paul Gauguin.^[1] The editions contained satirical copy, illustrated by his pen and screen drawings, with one of his woodcuts used for the header. It was in part inspired by the more successful Parisian periodical Le Rire, illustrated by artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec.

In total nine editions were printed during August 1899 and April 1900, between his stays in Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands. It is not known how many copies of each edition were printed, probably not more than 30. Due to a limited budget, and the fact that they were hand printed, the quality of the reproductions was often poor and blotchy, he used cheap glue to bind the leaves to the paper.^[2] However, they are admired by art critics and historians today.

Gallery

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  Three People, a Mask, a Fox and a Bird

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  A Horse and Birds

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  Man Carrying Bananas Followed by Two Horses

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  Tahitian Woman

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  Nude Woman, Man with a White Cap and Small Figure

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  Caricature of Governor Gallet

References

Sources

• Miller, Ethan. Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-impressionism. NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art