Projet d’assiette (Leda) (Design for a Plate [Leda]), frontispiece from the Volpini Suite

Projet d’assiette (Leda) (Design for a Plate [Leda]), frontispiece from the Volpini Suite by Paul Gauguin French, 1848-1903, is a crucial example of the artist’s graphic experimentation from 1889. Classified as a print, the work utilizes the technical medium of zincograph in black. Gauguin enhanced the image with delicate, hand-applied additions of pale orange, red, and green watercolor, alongside white crayon highlights, all set upon a distinctive chrome yellow wove paper. This ambitious piece served as the frontispiece for the famed Volpini Suite, a collection created specifically for the Café des Arts exhibition during the Paris World’s Fair.

Produced in France, this graphic output reflects Gauguin’s immersion in Symbolist and Synthetist ideals, moving away from naturalistic representation toward expressive form and color. The subject, a design for a plate, references the classical myth of Leda and the Swan. However, Gauguin’s interpretation simplifies the figures, emphasizing outline and patterned color fields over volume, aligning with his emerging aesthetic principles. The unusual combination of black zincograph ink on the vibrant yellow paper base, further modified by hand-coloring, demonstrates 1848-1903’s determination to push the expressive limits of the print medium.

The graphic output from this period is pivotal to understanding the development of Gauguin’s style prior to his extended travels to Tahiti. This unique color variant, Projet d’assiette (Leda), is an important work in the artist’s corpus of prints. It resides in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, offering scholars and the public an exceptional look at the French master's early graphic innovations. Today, high-quality prints and related materials of works such as this are often made available through public domain initiatives, allowing for wider study and appreciation.