Gauguin, Paul

Biography of Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) was one of the most emblematic painters of Post-Impressionism, known for his bold use of color, simplified forms and works inspired by exotic cultures. Born in Paris on June 7, 1848, Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was the son of Clovis Gauguin, a journalist, and Aline Chazal, a writer of Peruvian origin. At the age of 18 months, Gauguin moved with his family to Lima, Peru, where he spent the first years of his life, a stay that was to have a profound influence on his artistic imagination.

Returning to France after his father's untimely death, Gauguin grew up in Orléans and then Paris. After completing his studies, he became a sailor and traveled the world, before settling in Paris where he became a stockbroker. During his years of financial prosperity, he began to paint as an amateur and came into contact with the Impressionists, exhibiting with them for the first time in 1876.

In the late 1880s, the stock market crash of 1882 led to the bankruptcy of the company Gauguin worked for, forcing him to devote himself fully to painting. He befriended Camille Pissarro and, influenced by the Impressionists, took part in several of the group's exhibitions. However, he gradually turned away from Impressionism to develop a more personal style, characterized by bright colors, flat shapes and strong symbolism.

In 1886, Gauguin moved to Pont-Aven in Brittany, where he met Émile Bernard and other young artists with whom he developed synthétisme, an artistic approach that advocated simplifying shapes and colors to express emotions and ideas rather than objective reality. During this period, he painted some of his most famous works, such as The Vision after the Sermon (1888).

Gauguin then left for Martinique, returning to Brittany before heading for Arles, where he joined Vincent van Gogh in 1888. Their collaboration was tumultuous, ending abruptly after the famous altercation that led Van Gogh to mutilate his ear. Disappointed by Europe, Gauguin decided to distance himself from Western civilization and set off for Polynesia in 1891.

In Polynesia, Gauguin found a new source of inspiration. He settled first in Tahiti, then in the Marquesas Islands, where he painted some of his most famous works, such as Femmes de Tahiti (1891) and D'où venons-nous? What are we? Where are we going? (1897). His paintings from this period are marked by an expressive use of color, stylized forms and a fascination with Polynesian myths and culture.

Despite his artistic success, Gauguin's life was marked by financial difficulties and illness. He often lived in poverty and suffered from various health problems, exacerbated by poor hygiene. In 1901, he settled permanently in the Marquesas Islands, where he continued to paint and write until his death.

Paul Gauguin died in isolation and poverty on May 8, 1903 in Atuona, Marquesas Islands. His work, which was not fully recognized until after his death, had a profound influence on twentieth-century art, particularly Fauvism, Expressionism and Symbolism. Today, Gauguin is celebrated for his bold style, his exploration of new forms of expression, and his rejection of Western conventions in favor of a more primordial, spiritual artistic vision.