Paul Gauguin: 1848-1903

On this day in 1848, Paul Gauguin was born in Paris to a French journalist and Peruvian mother. The family left Paris in 1851 for Peru, however Gauguin’s father Clovis, died on the voyage over. Gauguin’s early life experiences in Peru would later have a great influence on the imagery in his paintings. At the age of seven, the family returned to Orléans, France to live with Gauguin’s grandfather.

Though Gauguin had been interested in art since childhood, he held several jobs before turning to painting full-time. Including fulfilling his required military service as a pilot’s assistant in the merchant marine, Gauguin also joined the navy, held a job as a stock broker, a sales representative for a canvas manufacturer, and other odd jobs that sustained his painting career.

In 1873, Gauguin married Mette Sophie Gad, a Danish woman with whom he had five children. In his free time, he began painting and became friends with Camille Pissarro and began to meet other artists such as Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh. Gauguin received little formal artistic training, though he was tutored by some of the professionals in his community.

As he became more involved with his art, Gauguin rented a studio, and showed paintings in Impressionist exhibitions between 1881 and 1882. In 1885, with a growing desire to paint full-time, Gauguin left his job as a stock broker and his wife and children in Copenhagen, returning to Paris.

In 1886, Gauguin began his lifelong migration between regions of French Polynesia and Paris often surviving on little or no money. Disappointed with Impressionism and influenced by folk art and Japanese prints, Gauguin evolved towards Cloisonnism and then Synthetism and Primitavism. Gauguin is considered to be the first artist to achieve broad success using the Primitive technique.

Gauguin’s paintings significantly influenced Modern art movements and artists including Matisse, Picasso, Braque, Fauvism, Cubism, and Orphism. Gauguin also created two- and three-dimensional sculptures and functional objects ranging from portrait busts and architectural reliefs to objects such as vases, knife handles, and wine casks. He was also an influential supporter of wood engraving and woodcuts as art forms.

In the last years of his life, Gauguin succumbed to various illnesses, including syphilis. He died on May 8, 1903 and remains buried at Calvary Cemetery – Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

For a complete biography and to view his complete works, visit Paul-Gauguin.net.