Old Women of Arles, from the Volpini Suite: Dessins lithographiques

Description

A hooded woman sits at the right of Paul Gauguin’s Old Women of Arles, her head angled toward the smaller figures farther left. The dark clothing gives the compact image a strong foreground presence, while paler surrounding areas keep the grouping distinct. The scene invites attention to the relationship between nearby and distant people, making a modest encounter engaging through its arrangement.

Made in 1889 for the Volpini Suite, the work is a zincograph on chrome-yellow paper. The vivid ground offers more than a neutral support, allowing darker marks and unprinted space to define the image together. Gauguin turns an everyday subject into a distinctive printed encounter, making the surface’s contrasts part of its appeal. The scene rewards looking at the meeting of familiar human activity and a treatment that gives ordinary appearances their own visual force.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Paul Gauguin collection.