Volpini Suite: Breton Bathers (Baigneuses Bretonnes)

Volpini Suite: Breton Bathers (Baigneuses Bretonnes) by Paul Gauguin is a significant print executed in 1889, utilizing the medium of the zincograph. This technique, a form of planographic printing similar to lithography but utilizing a zinc plate instead of stone, allowed Gauguin to experiment widely with texture, line, and the stark contrast between light and shadow. The piece belongs to the influential Volpini Suite, a collection of eleven experimental prints exhibited at the Café des Arts in Paris during the 1889 Exposition Universelle.

This collection served as Gauguin’s formal declaration of his move toward Synthetism. Rejecting the observational focus of Impressionism, Gauguin emphasized symbolic expression, defined by heavy outlines and simplified forms, a style clearly evident in the composition of Breton Bathers. The subject matter reflects the artist’s fascination with the perceived purity and traditional existence found in rural France, particularly the region of Brittany, where he frequently sought creative respite. The figures are rendered with deliberate crudeness, using broad, unmodulated areas of tone that flatten the pictorial space.

The distinctive graphic approach taken by Gauguin in this series marked a crucial step in modern art, demonstrating how prints could be used to advance non-naturalistic and symbolic aesthetic agendas. The visual language established in this work laid the groundwork for the more complex compositions Gauguin would pursue in the subsequent decade. This important example of French printmaking and Symbolist graphics is preserved in the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.