Artwork

Volpini Suite: Dramas of the Sea: Brittany (Les Drames de la Mer, Bretagne)

Volpini Suite: Dramas of the Sea: Brittany (Les Drames de la Mer, Bretagne) is a print by the Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin. It dates from 1889 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Created in 1889, the work titled *Volpini Suite: Dramas of the Sea: Brittany* is a zincographic print executed on yellow paper.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1889, the work titled *Volpini Suite: Dramas of the Sea: Brittany* is a zincographic print executed on yellow paper. It belongs to a series of prints that Gauguin produced during a brief but intensive foray into printmaking, alongside his painting and sculptural practice.

Subject & Meaning

The image presents three women in long, dark garments and head coverings standing before a rugged cliff, their postures suggesting a conversation, one gesturing with her hands. A cow is partially visible on the left, adding a rural element. The composition conveys a quiet, perhaps tense, moment set against a dramatic coastal landscape.

Technique & Style

Executed as a zincograph, the print employs a limited palette of deep hues that emphasize contrast and volume, echoing the chiaroscuro effect of light and shadow. Bold, visible strokes give the surface a textured quality, reflecting Gauguin’s interest in simplifying forms while retaining expressive intensity.

Context

The suite emerged while Gauguin was aligning with Post‑Impressionist and Symbolist tendencies, movements that favored personal expression over the optical realism of Impressionism. Its experimental use of color and simplified forms anticipates the artist’s later contributions to modernist visual language.

History & Provenance

The series was first exhibited at the Volpini exhibition in Paris, organized by Gauguin and his associates as an alternative venue to the official Salon. Since then, the prints have circulated among private collections and museum holdings, illustrating the work’s continued relevance to studies of late‑19th‑century printmaking.

Artist & collection

Artist

Paul Gauguin

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; French: ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements.