Terms and conditions of use
Bathers in Brittany
(Baigneuses bretonnes)
1889
from the Dessins lithographiques (Lithographic drawings) portfolio, 1889 (also known as the Volpini Set)
Medium
zincograph on yellow paper
Measurements
23.2 × 19.8 cm (image) 49.9 × 33.4 cm (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1993
Gallery location
Late 19th & early 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
In his search for a so-called ‘untouched’ society and a ‘means of truthful representation’, Gauguin travelled to Brittany and Arles in rural France, and later, to the French colonies in the Caribbean and Polynesia. While based in the Breton town of Pont-Aven in the late 1880s, Gauguin developed Synthetism, a new approach that prioritised the artist’s personal responses to the world (as opposed to truth to nature), and abstract concepts of colour, line and form. These qualities are evident in Gauguin’s first series of prints which presented images inspired by his travels, printed on canary-yellow paper. The series’ yellow paper and decorative qualities were inspired by Gauguin’s enthusiasm for Japanese prints.
Artwork Details
Catalogue/s Raisonné
Guérin 3; Mongan, Kornfeld & Joachim 4.Ab
Edition
1st edition
Printing/Publishing
printed by Éduoard Ancourt
Inscription
printed in ink (in image) c.l.: P Gauguin
stamped in black ink c.r.: YB (monogram) (Lugt 421: Alfred Beurdeley)
Accession Number
P109-1993
Departments
International Prints / International Prints and Drawings
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest