The Seaweed Gatherers

Les Goemoniers is set in Raguenez, located on the coast near the town of Nevez. Although it is unsigned, several studies testify to its careful and well-thought-out production. Many figures, each attending to their work, are painstakingly detailed all along the water’s edge. Some are working against the rising tide to haul up piles of kelp with ropes, while others brace themselves to drag it onto the shore. Still others, most of them women, are overseeing the transfer of the harvest onto stretchers. At the time, kelp was a sought-after fertiliser for crops, in particular for wheat. This canvas shows the influence of the Pont-Aven aesthetic developed by Gauguin and Bernard, and testifies to Jolly’s familiarity with Japanese woodblock prints.