Les drames de la mer (Dramas of the Sea), from the Volpini Suite, is a significant print created by Paul Gauguin, French, 1848-1903, in 1889. This work is technically classified as a zincograph, a form of lithographic printing, executed in black ink on distinct chrome yellow wove paper. This deliberate choice of support color dramatically affects the atmosphere of the resultant image.
The prints comprising the Volpini Suite were produced specifically for the artist's pioneering independent exhibition held at the Café Volpini in Paris during the Exposition Universelle of 1889. This display was crucial to the development of Post-Impressionism, aiming to showcase Gauguin's break from conventional Impressionist techniques and establish his leadership among the emerging Symbolist movement active in France.
The subject matter explores a dramatic maritime narrative, featuring figures-likely fishermen-grappling with the overwhelming power of the sea, a frequent subject among artists depicting peasant life in Brittany. Gauguin's technique, utilizing the zinc plate, favored stark contrasts, flattened planes, and simplified outlines, emphasizing the graphic quality sought by the Symbolists. Unlike traditional renderings of water, this work uses broad fields of black ink combined with the intense underlying yellow paper to create a mood of symbolic, elemental struggle rather than naturalistic representation. This powerful example of experimental prints from the late 19th century is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
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