In 1894, Paul Gauguin came to the conclusion that European culture in general, and French culture in particular, was spiritually and morally bankrupt. So he left. On the eight of June that same year he arrived in Tahiti, an island of tropical warmth, impenetrable jungles, and - most importantly for Gauguin - unspoiled, undecadent, un-European, and extremely beautiful people.

He luxuriated in this paradise for two years, producing some of his most skillful and best-known paintings, as well as more personal masterpiece: his journal and the woodblocks he made to accompany it. In his Tahiti diary, Gauguin wrote affectionately about the majestic and earthy people he met (a Maori princess, who almost broke his bed; his first Tahitian mistress, who left him because he didn't give her enough gifts; and his thirteen-year-old wife), about the stories and the myths that were told to him, about the paintings he worked on, and about the rich tropical landscape that surrounded and inspired him.

In 1896, he abruptly returned to France, where his journal was declared too racy for publication. Ultimately, he published it himself but was unable to include his powerful woodblock illustrations. In Noa Noa they appear together for the first time, accompanied by the whimsical, brightly colored sketches that Gauguin included in the margins of his journal. This collection of sensuous and intriguing illustrations is a testament to Gauguin's reverence for nature and his respect for the nobility of Tahitian society. Combined with Gauguin's detailed and highly entertaining writing, they elevate Noa Noa to its rightful place among the masterworks of an extraordinary artists.