The Washerwomen (Les laveuses)

Gauguin employed lithography on zinc, a process that allows for bold, flat areas of color and crisp line work. The print’s yellow wove paper background contributes a warm undertone, while the simplified silhouettes and exaggerated contours reflect his Synthetist approach, which favored expressive color over optical detail. This method produces a textured surface that guides the eye across the figures and surrounding foliage, reinforcing the work’s structural clarity.

The lithograph was produced during Gauguin’s early foray into printmaking, a period when he was expanding beyond painting into reproducible media. It was issued as part of a limited series of lithographs that the artist marketed to collectors in Paris. Subsequent ownership records show the print entering European private collections before being acquired by a museum in the mid‑20th century, where it remains on view.

Created at the close of the 1880s, the work sits at the intersection of Post‑Impressionism and Symbolism, movements that encouraged artists to move beyond naturalistic representation. Gauguin’s interest in non‑Western art and his desire to synthesize form and color are evident in the piece’s stylized figures and flattened space. The subject matter—rural labor—also reflects contemporary artistic trends that sought authenticity in everyday life.