Paul Gauguin
French Post-Impressionist known for vivid color and Synthetist style.
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a French artist who worked as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer. His art is mainly linked to the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements, and he was also a key figure in wood engraving and woodcuts. During his life, he had only modest success, but he is now valued for his bold experiments with color and his Synthetist approach, which set him apart from Impressionism.
Born in Paris on 7 June 1848, a year of revolutions across Europe, Gauguin’s father was a liberal journalist forced to leave France after his newspaper was shut down. His mother was the daughter of an engraver and Flora Tristan, a socialist writer and activist. Tristan, Gauguin’s maternal grandmother, was the illegitimate child of a Spanish aristocrat from Arequipa, Peru, and a woman of unknown background. After her father’s death, Tristan lived in poverty, later obtained a small settlement from his Peruvian relatives, and wrote a popular travelogue about her trip there. She supported early socialist movements and died in 1844, but Gauguin admired her deeply and kept her books with him for life.
In 1850, Gauguin’s family sailed for Peru, hoping his father could work with his wife’s relatives there. His father died of a heart attack on the voyage, leaving his mother a widow with Paul, then 18 months old, and his older sister. In Peru, they were welcomed by relatives, and Gauguin enjoyed a privileged childhood with servants until age six. This period left lasting impressions on him. The family’s fortunes changed when their political allies lost power in a civil war in 1854, forcing his mother to return to France. She settled in Paris as a dressmaker, while Paul stayed with his paternal grandfather in Orléans.
Gauguin attended several schools, including a Catholic boarding school for three years, a naval preparatory school in Paris at age 14, and a final year at a lycée in Orléans. He first worked as a stockbroker, painting in his spare time after visiting galleries and exhibitions. A financial crisis in 1882 hurt his brokerage career, leading him to become a full-time painter. He was largely self-taught, learning through connections with other artists rather than formal training. His entry into art came through Camille Pissarro, an Impressionist who mentored him and introduced him to other artists and techniques.
Gauguin exhibited with the Impressionists in the early 1880s but soon developed his own style, using bolder colors and less traditional subjects. His work in Brittany and Martinique showed his interest in native life and landscapes. In the 1890s, he moved to Tahiti, then a French colony, seeking escape from Western civilization. His later years in Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands were troubled by poor health and money problems. The paintings he made there, with vivid colors and Symbolist themes, later became popular with European audiences for exploring connections between people, nature, and spirituality.
After his death, Gauguin’s art gained fame, partly due to dealer Ambroise Vollard, who exhibited his work late in his career and helped organize two major posthumous shows in Paris. His work influenced the French avant-garde and modern artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. He is also well known for his relationship with Vincent and Theo van Gogh.
- born
- 7 June 1848
- died
- 8 May 1903
- field
- Painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, writing
- nationality
- French
- known_for
- Experimental use of color, Synthetist style, Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin
- Birth Date
- df=yes · 1848 · 6 · 7
- Birth Place
- Paris, France
- Death Date
- df=yes · 1903 · 5 · 8 · 1848 · 6 · 7
- Death Place
- Atuona, Marquesas Islands
- Field
- Painting · sculpture · ceramics · engraving
- Movement
- Post-Impressionism · Primitivism · Synthetism
- Spouse
- Mette-Sophie Gad · 1873 · 1894 · end=separated · Teha'amana · 1891 · 1893 · end=separated
- Works
- Spirit of the Dead Watching · Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? · When Will You Marry?
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Gauguin was born in Paris in 1848, amidst Europe's revolutionary year. In 1850, his family settled in Peru, where he experienced a privileged childhood until age six that left a lasting impression. Financial struggles later brought them back to France, where Gauguin received formal education. Initially working as a stockbroker, he started painting in his spare time, his interest kindled by visits to galleries and exhibitions. The financial crisis of 1882 significantly impacted his brokerage career, prompting a shift to full-time painting. His art education was largely self-taught, shaped by associations with other artists, particularly Camille Pissarro, who mentored him and introduced him to Impressionist techniques.
Gauguin exhibited with the Impressionists in the early 1880s but soon developed his distinct style, characterized by bolder color and less traditional subject matter. His work in Brittany and Martinique showcased his inclination towards depicting native life and landscapes. By the 1890s, his art took a significant turn during his time in Tahiti, then a French colony, where he sought refuge from Western civilization. His later years in Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands were marked by health problems and financial struggles. His paintings from that period, with vivid colors and Symbolist themes, proved highly successful among European viewers for their exploration of relationships between people, nature, and the spiritual world.
Reader's Guide
Gauguin's significance lies in his experimental use of color and Synthetist style, which distinguished him from Impressionism and influenced the French avant-garde and many modern artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. His art became popular after his death, partially due to the efforts of dealer Ambroise Vollard, who organized exhibitions late in Gauguin's career and assisted in organizing two important posthumous exhibitions in Paris. Gauguin's work explored relationships between people, nature, and the spiritual world, and he is well known for his relationship with Vincent and Theo van Gogh. His legacy endures as a key figure in the transition from Impressionism to modern art, though his personal life and choices remain subjects of historical scrutiny.
Did You Know?
- Gauguin's maternal grandmother, Flora Tristan, was an author and activist in early socialist movements.
- He served as a pilot's assistant in the merchant marine and later in the French navy for two years.
- Gauguin's painting The Market Gardens of Vaugirard, initially dismissed, is now highly regarded.
- He kept copies of his grandmother Flora Tristan's books with him to the end of his life.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Paul Gauguin (7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist painter; From 1895 he lived and painted in Papeete on Tahiti." — Paul Gauguin "Quote of Gauguin from: Notes Synthéthiques (ca. 1884-1885), ed. Henri Mahaut, in Vers et prose (July-September 1910), p. 52; translation from John Rewald, Gauguin (Hyperion Press, 1938), p. 161." — Paul Gauguin "How do you see this tree? Is it really green? Use green, then, the most beautiful green on your palette. And that shadow, rather blue? Don't be afraid to paint it as blue as possible." — Paul Gauguin "Comment voyez-vous cet arbre? Il est bien vert? Mettez donc du vert, le plus beau vert de votre palette; — et cette ombre, plutôt bleue? Ne craignez pas la peindre aussi bleue que possible." — Paul Gauguin
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