The Post-Impressionist Greats - Paul Gauguin (Part 1)
Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) was a Post-Impressionist painter and sculptor, and a well-known figure in art history for his "mid-life career change" and impressive achievements.
Gauguin's life seems to have never been straightforward. At the age of 2, his family was exiled to South America with his journalist father, who passed away during the journey, leaving his mother to struggle to survive in a foreign land with her children. In 1885, they finally returned to France, but Gauguin continued to live under the care of relatives.
Throughout Gauguin's life, "stability" was non-existent. He did not enjoy the early years of poverty and hardship, but the vibrant colors of South America left a deep mark on his life, eventually leading him to retrace the path of his childhood.
Upon returning to France, Gauguin received a decent education, particularly in classical culture and art. This allowed him to secure a respectable job as a financial securities broker, with a promising future and considerable income (equivalent to around $150,000 per year today). He also had good taste and was a frequent visitor to galleries and art museums, appearing to be a successful man by worldly standards.
However, he soon became dissatisfied with merely collecting art. After getting married in 1873, he enrolled in evening painting classes at the Clérois Academy and pursued painting training every Sunday, rain or shine. Strangely, he told his wife that he was going to gamble and laze around, as if art was his secret "mistress". This was not the first time he had contradicted himself; it seems that conflict was the true nature of this soul.
The Post-Impressionist Greats - Paul Gauguin (Part 2)
At the age of 37, perhaps due to the collapse of the French stock market or the collapse of his own ambition, Gauguin found it unbearable and made the bold decision to abandon his family and venture into the art industry alone.
Gauguin had a typical narcissistic personality, extremely self-absorbed. So, when he determined that "art" was his true love, it became a disaster for those around him.
His "mentor" who encouraged him to enter the art field, Schuffenecker, not only had his talent ridiculed by Gauguin but also developed a relationship with his wife while she was acting as Gauguin's broker.
And this was not the only friend he fell out with; later there was also Pissarro and Van Gogh. In his principles of making friends, "profitable" was a very important criterion. Pissarro was an elder of the Impressionists back then, and he appreciated Gauguin's talent and made many introductions for him. As for Van Gogh, he had a brother who was an art broker.
Despite being such a selfish person, his aesthetic preferences were simple and primitive, and his use of color directly influenced the birth of Synthetism.
Gauguin was a fan of Rousseau and greatly disliked the so-called "civilization" of the West, as well as colonialism, which he regarded as a scourge and desperately wanted to escape from. Brittany could no longer satisfy him, so Gauguin left France and traveled to America, finding his muse's sanctuary - Tahiti.
There, one masterpiece after another of his descendants appeared. Savagery and purity completely occupied him, and he almost abandoned traditional perspective, relying entirely on color and contrasting composition, making his works more exotic and mysterious.
Three Masters of Post-Impressionism—Gauguin (Part 3)
In this "Garden of Eden", Gauguin completely indulged his talents and desires, and even married a 14-year-old indigenous girl. This indulgence caused him to contract syphilis and develop syphilitic heart disease.
Like many literary and artistic workers, early syphilis brought him delightful imagination and visions. But soon, pain came knocking on the door, and he could only live on mercury and laudanum.
It was also at this time, in 1897, that he received the news of his daughter's death. The double physical and psychological blow forced him to create his most famous large-scale work - "Where Do We Come From?" who are we? Where are we going? 》.
Then committed suicide...attempted.
But fate did not give him mercy because of his life-and-death experience; he was still impoverished.
In 1902, his heart disease worsened and he was completely unable to paint. He could only write instead and wrote "Whispers of an Art Apprentice".
In March 1903, Gauguin was once again defamed for protecting the interests of the indigenous people and was sentenced to 3 months in prison and fined 500 francs by the colonial authorities. He attempted to appeal and began to raise funds; at 11 a.m. on May 8, he inspired the Fauves and other great artists who had an indelible impact on the later art world, and the prototype of Somerset Maugham's "The Moon and Sixpence" - Paul Gauguin Died due to heart attack.
