The Volpini Exhibition, 1889

Poster of the 1889 exhibition by the "Impressionist and Synthetist Group", at the Café des Arts.[1]

The Volpini Exhibition was an exhibition of paintings arranged by Paul Gauguin and his circle held at the Café des Arts on the Champ de Mars, not far from the official art pavilion of the 1889 Exposition universelle in Paris.[2] A poster and an illustrated catalogue were printed, but the show of "Paintings by the Impressionist and Synthetist Group", held in June and early July 1889, was ignored by the press and proved to be a failure.

## Background

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See also: Émile Bernard chronology

The official art exhibition at the Académie des Beaux-Arts accompanying the Exposition universelle displayed works by invited artists only, and the selection of works to be exhibited had to pass the judgement of official juries. Neither Gauguin nor his friends could hope to enter this exhibition. However, by chance Emile Schuffenecker found another way that they might present their work to the public in conjunction with the exposition. Monsieur Volpini, who had the contract for the Grand Café des Arts opposite the exhibition, had a problem: the mirrors he had ordered in Italy to decorate the interior of his café would not arrive in time for the opening of the exposition.[3] Schuffenecker proposed that the gap could be filled with a display of paintings created by himself and his friends.

## Participation

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Gauguin, through Schuffenecker, ensured that the Neo-Impressionists Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Henri-Edmond Cross and Pissarro were excluded from the exhibition.[4] He proposed to include:

* 10 paintings each, by Schuffenecker, Guillaumin, Gauguin and Bernard
* 2 paintings each by Roy and Fauché
* 6 paintings by van Gogh[5]

Guillaumin and Theo van Gogh, acting for his brother Vincent, refused to participate, while Anquetin, Laval and Monfreid joined the group. Bernard split his contribution: two of his paintings were shown under the pseudonym Ludovic Nemo and described as peintures pètroles.[6]

The final participation was:

* Paul Gauguin – 17 items
* Charles Laval – 10 items
* Léon Fauché – 5 items
* E. Schuffenecker – 20 items
* Louis Anquetin – 7 items
* Georges Daniel – 3 items
* Émile Bernard – 23 items
* Louis Roy – 7 items
* Ludovic Nemo – 2 items

## Catalogue layout and illustrations

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Paul Gauguin, Roches Noires Drawing, 1889, exhibition catalogue frontispiece

The catalogue for the exhibition had a somewhat idiosyncratic layout. The title page was followed by a list of contributing artists (Exposants) accompanied by a Gauguin drawing titled Aux Rochers noires. The drawing was a conflation of two of his exhibited paintings, Breton Eve and In the Waves.[7] The next double-page lists Gauguin's contribution (nos. 31–47) and reproduces Gauguin's Les Faneuses, and the one following Schuffenecker's list (nos. 55–67, 78, 69–73, 83) together with Ramasseuses de varech (Yport). Émile Bernard continues (nos. 7-19bis, 75–88), illustrated by Reverie. Now, Louis Anquetin (Nos. 1-6bis) precedes Louis Roy (nos. 49-54bis) and an illustration of his Gardeur de cochons. Léon Fauché (nos. 22, 23, 25, 26, 28) and a reproduction of his Paysan occupies the next two pages, Charles Laval (nos. 84, 85, 89–96) and George Daniel (nos. 20-21bis) continue; Femme lisant of the latter is illustrated. The two final pages of the catalogue list two works by Ludovic Némo (nos. 74, 87) accompanied by an untitled reproduction, and note that an album of lithographs by Bernard and Gauguin can be seen on demand.

## Selected works from the catalogue

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* Paul Gauguin - The Mango Trees, Martinique. Purchased by Theo van Gogh for 400 francs, the most expensive painting he ever bought.

* Paul Gauguin - Breton Girls Dancing.

* Paul Gauguin - Breton Eve

* Paul Gauguin - In the Waves.

## Notes, references and sources

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Notes and references

1. ^ Printed by E. Watelet, 1889. 39.8 x 28.6 cm
2. ^ Lucie-Smith, Edward (1972). Symbolist Art. London: Thames & Hudson, p. 94. ISBN 0500201250
3. ^ Mathews p. 132
4. ^ "Gauguin, Paul." by Rodolphe Rapetti, Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
5. ^ Letter to Schuffenecker, c. December 1888: see Malingue no LXXVII.
6. ^ Frèches-Thory pp. 52–4
7. ^ Thomson p. 94

Sources

* Reff, Theodore, ed. (1982). Catalogue de L'Exposition de Peintures du Groupe Impressioniste et Synthétiste faite dans le local de M. Volpini au Champ-de-Mars 1889, Impr. Watelet; reprinted by Watelet-Arbelot, 1971, and republished in Modern Art in Paris, vol. 28, New York & London
* Frèches-Thory, Claire (1988). "Brittany, 1886–1890". The Art of Paul Gauguin. with Peter Zegers. National Gallery of Art. pp. 52–4. ISBN 0-8212-1723-2. LCCN 88-81005.
* Malingue, Maurice (1949). Paul Gauguin: letters to his wife and friends. Cleveland
* Mathews, Nancy Mowll (2001). Paul Gauguin, an Erotic Life. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-09109-5
* Rewald, John (1978). Post-Impressionism: From Van Gogh to Gauguin, revised edition. London: Secker & Warburg, pp. 255–265
* Siberchicot, Clément (2011). L'Exposition Volpini, 1889. Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard, Charles Laval: une avant-garde au coeur de l'Exposition universelle, Paris: Classiques Garnier
* Thomson, Belinda (1987). Gauguin. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-20220-6

* v
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Post-Impressionism

19th-century
movements|

* Neo-Impressionism
* Divisionism
* Pointillism
* Cloisonnism
* Les Nabis
* Synthetism
* Symbolism
* Art Nouveau

Artists|

* Cuno Amiet
* Charles Angrand
* Émile Bernard
* Edvard Munch
* Pierre Bonnard
* Marius Borgeaud
* Paul Cézanne
* Henri-Edmond Cross
* Maurice Denis
* Georges Dufrénoy
* Paul Gauguin
* Hippolyte Petitjean
* Paul Ranson
* Odilon Redon
* Henri Rousseau
* René Schützenberger
* Paul Sérusier
* Georges Seurat
* Paul Signac
* Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
* Charles Laval
* Georges Lemmen
* Maximilien Luce
* Vincent van Gogh
* Théo van Rysselberghe
* Félix Vallotton
* Édouard Vuillard

20th-century
movements|

* Fauvism
* Die Brücke
* Der Blaue Reiter
* Expressionism
* Cubism

Artists|

* Georges Braque
* Charles Camoin
* André Derain
* Raoul Dufy
* Henri Matisse
* Albert Gleizes
* Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
* Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
* Wassily Kandinsky
* Sonia Lewitska
* Franz Marc
* Jean Metzinger
* Henry Ottmann
* Francis Picabia
* Pablo Picasso
* Robert Antoine Pinchon
* Henriette Tirman
* Jean Marchand
* Othon Friesz

Exhibitions|

* Artistes Indépendants
* Les XX
* Volpini Exhibition
* Le Barc de Boutteville
* La Libre Esthétique
* Ambroise Vollard
* Salon d'Automne
* Salon des Indépendants
* Salon des Cent
* Salon des Tuileries

Critics|

* Félix Fénéon
* Albert Aurier

Related|

* Impressionism
* Modernism
* Modern art
* Secessionism

* v
* t
* e

Paul Gauguin

Paintings|

* List of paintings
* Study of a Nude (1880)
* Still Life with Profile of Laval (1886)
* Still Life with a Sketch after Delacroix (c. 1887)
* Vision after the Sermon (1888)
* The Painter of Sunflowers (1888)
* Landscape near Arles (1888)
* The Wave (1888)
* Portrait of Madame Roulin (1888)
* Fields by the Sea (1889)
* The Beautiful Angel (1889)
* Fruits on a Table (1889)
* The Schuffenecker Family (1889)
* The Flageolet Player on the Cliff (1889)
* The Yellow Christ (1889)
* The Green Christ (1889)
* Christ on the Mount of Olives (1889)
* Self-Portrait with Halo and Snake (1889)
* Still Life with Head-Shaped Vase and Japanese Woodcut (1889)
* Self-Portrait with the Yellow Christ (c. 1890–91)
* Tahitian Women on the Beach (1891)
* Tahitian Woman with a Flower (1891)
* A Man with an Axe (1891)
* Ia Orana Maria (1891)
* The Bunch of Flowers (1891)
* Conversation (1891)
* Early Evening (1892)
* Landscape with Peacocks (Death) (1892)
* Parau na te varua ino (1892)
* Vahine no te vi (1892)
* Vairumati tei Oa (1892)
* Fatata te Miti (By the Sea) (1892)
* Arearea (1892)
* Spirit of the Dead Watching (1892)
* Te Fare (1892)
* When Will You Marry? (1892)
* Aha Oe Feii? (1892)
* Arii Matamoe (1892)
* The Siesta (1892–1894)
* Merahi metua no Tehamana (1893)
* Otahi (1893)
* Self-Portrait in a Hat (1893)
* Mahana no atua (1894)
* Nave nave moe (1894)
* Arearea no varua ino (1894)
* Le violoncelliste (1894)
* Breton Peasant Women (1894)
* Eiaha Ohipa (1896)
* Nave Nave Mahana (1896)
* Te tamari no atua (1896)
* The Queen (1896)
* Vairumati (1897)
* Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (1897/1898)
* Nevermore (1897)
* Two Tahitian Women (1899)
* The Great Buddha (1899)
* Tahitian Woman and Boy (1899)
* Landscape, Horse on the Road (1899)
* The Call (1902)
* Still Life with Exotic Birds (1902)
* Landscape with a Pig and a Horse (1903)

Other works|

* Jug in the Form of a Head, Self-Portrait (1889)
* Soyez amoureuses vous serez heureuses (wood panel, 1889)
* Objet décoratif carré avec dieux tahitiens (sculpture, 1893–1895)
* Oviri (ceramic sculpture, 1895)

Periodicals|

* Le Sourire (1899–1900)

Exhibitions|

* Les XX, 1889
* The Volpini Exhibition, 1889

Museums|

* Paul Gauguin Museum (Tahiti)
* Paul Gauguin Cultural Center (Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands)
* Paul Gauguin Interpretation Centre (Martinique)

People|

* Jean René Gauguin (son)
* Pola Gauguin (son)
* Paul René Gauguin (grandson)
* Flora Tristan (grandmother)
* Émile Bernard
* Vincent van Gogh
* Meijer de Haan
* Charles Laval
* George-Daniel de Monfreid
* Camille Pissarro
* Émile Schuffenecker
* Theo van Gogh
* Ambroise Vollard

Related|

* The Moon and Sixpence (1942 film)
* Lust for Life (1956 film)
* Rebel in Paradise (1960 film)
* The Wolf at the Door (1986 film)
* Paradise Found (2003 film)
* Gauguin: Off the Beaten Track (2013 comic book)
* At Eternity's Gate (2018 film)
* Gauguin (crater)
* Paul Gauguin Cruises
* ship

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