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For many, the "myth" of Paul Gauguin—the self-taught artist
who abandoned his family to focus full-time on painting in distant places—can
overwhelm his actual life story and contributions to art. Apart from his personal
story, Gauguin's innovations—his bold style that expressed emotion
through strong color, and his exotic subject matter—had a profound effect
on the art of the twentieth century.
Gauguin revealed little detail about his early life, but it is clear that
his childhood was marked by frequent moves and shifting relationships. His
parents left Paris soon after his birth in 1848 to join his mother's extended
family in Peru. His father died on the ship, leaving his young wife to fend
for Paul and his sister, and forcing the family to depend on others for financial
security.
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Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait Dedicated to Carrière, 1888 or 1889 |
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| They returned to France five years later. Gauguin, whose first language
was Spanish, learned to speak French. Unruly at home and at school, Gauguin
enlisted in the merchant marines at age 17, and after that, in the navy.
He spent the next several years traveling the world and learned of his
mother's
death from a distant port. When he returned to Paris in 1871, he had
an inheritance to live on but no real life plan. He took a job in a stock
brokerage and was introduced to contemporary art through
friends. About this time, he started to dabble in painting. He met and
married a Danish woman with whom he would have five children.
In 1873, although he had no formal training, Gauguin began to paint seriously and made quick progress. Within three years he exhibited a painting in the important official exhibition, the Paris Salon. Through his acquaintance with the painter Camille Pissarro, Gauguin met and exhibited with a group of impressionist painters including Monet, Renoir, and Degas.
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In 1883 he decided to devote himself full-time to his art. He quit his job
and found himself living on his own. His wife and children were confused by
Gauguin's all-consuming passion for art, and they moved to Denmark. Though
they remained apart, Gauguin corresponded with his wife throughout his life;
his letters give us a personal look into the thoughts and motivations behind
his art.
Gauguin was drawn to "primitive", mythic, and mysterious subject
matter. His unique style developed during trips to Brittany, a rugged land
in northwest France. There he hoped to tap the expressive potential of an unspoiled
society. He made bold paintings of the Breton people in native dress, work
that influenced a group of painters who became Gauguin's devoted followers.
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Paul Gauguin, Breton Girls Dancing, 1888 |
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