Women Washing Clothes (from the Volpini Suite) - Paul Gauguin

A 1889 zincograph by Paul Gauguin, featuring two women washing clothes, rendered in the bold, simplified style of the Synthetist movement on yellow paper.

This print belongs to the Volpini Suite, a collection of eleven zincographs produced by Paul Gauguin in 1889. The series was displayed at the Café des Arts, located near the entrance of the Exposition Universelle in Paris, during an exhibition organised by the Impressionist and Synthetist Group. Gauguin chose to print these works on canary-yellow paper, a decision that creates a stark contrast with the black ink and emphasises the flat, decorative qualities of his compositions.

The scene depicts two women engaged in the manual labour of washing clothes. Gauguin employs the stylistic tenets of Synthetism, prioritising bold outlines and simplified forms over traditional modelling or perspective. The figures are rendered with heavy, dark masses that anchor the composition, while the surrounding water is suggested through rhythmic, swirling lines. This approach reflects his move away from the observational methods of Impressionism toward a more subjective, symbolic representation of form.

By reducing the visual information to essential shapes and patterns, Gauguin directs the viewer's attention to the physical posture of the figures and the decorative potential of the scene. The lack of depth creates a sense of immediacy, typical of his graphic work from this period. The print demonstrates his interest in the aesthetic possibilities of the medium, using the texture of the zinc plate to achieve varied tonal effects within the dark areas of the clothing. This work offers a view into the experimental nature of the Pont-Aven school, where artists sought to synthesise memory and observation into a unified visual language.