Description
Women carry baskets on their heads or rest beside the sea in The Grasshoppers and the Ants: A Souvenir of Martinique. Paul Gauguin made this zincograph in 1889 for the Volpini Suite, printing the scene on vivid yellow paper. The figures’ movements and pauses form a rhythm across the landscape, with dark contours linking their bodies to the surrounding foliage. Despite its title, the subject is a gathering of people rather than an insect study.
The title refers to a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, bringing the contrast between activity and rest into dialogue with the observed scene. Gauguin’s simplified outlines make the arrangement feel deliberate, almost choreographed, without removing its human variety. The yellow ground unifies the image and gives the dark marks unusual strength. A remembered Caribbean setting becomes a compact composition in which everyday labor and moments of repose coexist.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Paul Gauguin collection.
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