The Life and Works of Gauguin

You may or may not have heard of Gauguin before now. He is probably not as famous as Picasso or Van Gogh, but he was a talented artist as well with an interesting life. Hopefully this short account of his work and art will inspire you to look him up on the internet or at your local library to see some of his beautiful work for yourself.

Paul Gauguin was born in 1848 in France. As a very small child he moved to Peru, where he stayed until the age of seven when he moved back to France. At seventeen years old, he joined the navy, where he spent the next six years traveling the world. In 1873 he was married to Mette Gad, who came from a Danish background.

Gauguin had an amateur love of painting, but his career took him in a different direction. He was actually a stock broker, working in a respected brokerage firm in Paris. It seemed he was quite good at this career as he became quite wealthy. However, in 1882 there was a huge financial crash, which affected Gauguin directly.

He moved around a few times, trying to become financially stable again, however that did not happen. Instead, he decided to try out his passion for painting. Luckily for the art he decided to do this. However, this decision destroyed his personal life. In 1885 he left his wife and children.

Gauguin eventually flocked away from Paris to an area known as Brittany. Brittany was very popular among artists, partially because of the beautiful land. Gauguin wrote, "I love Brittany." The Breton Shepherdess was done in 1886 and reflects Gauguin's time spent in Brittany. The country landscape was perfect, an ideal place, which for him is probably what it was.

Gauguin moved around a lot. Each move provided new inspiration and surroundings that inspired new work. Time spent in Panama, Martinique, St. Pierre, and Paris all lent Gauguin inspiration through personal experiences and the surrounding. Much of it can be seen in his various works.

Gauguin was only 54 years old when he died. Though he lived a relatively short life, his passion and energy can still be seen today.

Some of Gauguin's Work Worth Exploring

Arearea - 1892
Breton Village In The Snow - 1894
The Day Of The God - 1894
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? - 1897
Tahitian Pastoral - 1898