The Grasshoppers and the Ants: A Souvenir of Martinique, from the "Volpini Suite: Dessins lithographiques"

The Grasshoppers and the Ants: A Souvenir of Martinique, from the "Volpini Suite: Dessins lithographiques," is a significant print created by Paul Gauguin in 1889. This work is classified as a zincograph, a printmaking technique closely related to lithography, utilizing a zinc plate rather than traditional limestone. The specific first edition impression is notable for its highly saturated surface, printed on chrome yellow wove paper, intensifying the vibrancy of the composition.

This print was one of the eleven works featured in the Dessins lithographiques exhibition that Gauguin organized and displayed at the Café Volpini in Paris in 1889, often referred to as the Volpini Suite. The exhibition was an important precursor to his Symbolist period and served as a public showcase for the Synthetist style he was developing with Émile Bernard.

The title’s subtitle, "A Souvenir of Martinique," anchors the imagery in Gauguin's 1887 sojourn to the Caribbean island, a period crucial for his stylistic shift toward Primitivism and non-Western subjects. The composition features two women, presumably local islanders, presented with flat, bold color fields and strong contours. Gauguin utilizes the traditional structure of the Aesop fable, positioning one figure in a languid pose while the other appears more active, but the true focus lies in the aesthetic interpretation rather than strict narrative illustration. Gauguin’s focus on exotic locations and indigenous women reflects his ongoing artistic search for an untainted, non-European purity. This important example of early Symbolist prints is housed in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.