Projects and books. Paul Gauguin

“Bad luck has haunted me since childhood. I have never known happiness or joy, only misfortune. And I exclaim: “Lord, if you exist, I accuse you of injustice and cruelty,” wrote Paul Gauguin, creating his most famous painting “Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?". After writing which, he attempted suicide. Indeed, it was as if some kind of inexorable evil fate had been hanging over him all his life.

Stockbroker

It all started simply: he quit his job. Stockbroker Paul Gauguin was tired of all this fuss. Moreover, in 1884, Paris plunged into a financial crisis. Several failed deals, a couple of high-profile scandals - and now Gauguin is on the street.

However, he had long been looking for a reason to plunge headlong into painting. Turn this old hobby into a profession.

Of course, it was a complete gamble. Firstly, Gauguin was still far from creative maturity. Secondly, newfangled the impressionist paintings he painted were not in the slightest demand among the public. Therefore, it is natural that after a year of his artistic “career” Gauguin was already thoroughly impoverished.

It is a cold winter in Paris in 1885-86, his wife and children have gone to their parents in Copenhagen, Gauguin is starving. In order to somehow feed himself, he works for a pittance as a poster putter. “What really makes poverty terrible is that it interferes with work, and the mind comes to a dead end,” he later recalled. “This especially applies to life in Paris and other big cities, where the struggle for a piece of bread takes up three-quarters of your time and half of your energy.”

It was then that Gauguin had the idea to go somewhere to warm countries, life in which seemed to him to be surrounded by a romantic aura of pristine beauty, purity and freedom. In addition, he believed that there would be almost no need to earn bread.

Paradise islands

In May 1889, while wandering around the huge World Exhibition in Paris, Gauguin finds himself in a hall filled with examples of oriental sculpture. He examines the ethnographic exhibition and watches ritual dances performed by graceful Indonesian women. And with renewed vigor the idea of ​​moving away lights up in him. Somewhere further from Europe, to warmer climes. In one of his letters from that time we read: “The whole East and the deep philosophy imprinted in golden letters in its art, all this deserves study, and I believe that I will find new strength there. The modern West is rotten, but a man of Herculean disposition can, like Antaeus, draw fresh energy by touching the soil there.”

The choice fell on Tahiti. The official guide to the island published by the Ministry of Colonies depicted paradise life. Inspired by the reference book, Gauguin, in one of his letters from that time, says: “Soon I am leaving for Tahiti, a small island in the South Seas, where you can live without money. I am determined to forget my miserable past, write freely as I please, without thinking about fame, and in the end die there, forgotten by everyone here in Europe.”

One after another, he sends petitions to government authorities, wanting to receive an “official mission”: “I want,” he wrote to the Minister of Colonies, “to go to Tahiti and paint a number of paintings in this region, the spirit and colors of which I consider it my task to perpetuate.” And in the end he received this “official mission”. The mission provided discounts on expensive travel to nearby Tahiti. But only.

The auditor is coming to see us!

However, no, not only that. The governor of the island received a letter from the Colonial Office regarding the "official mission". As a result, at first Gauguin was given a very good reception there. Local officials even suspected at first that he was not an artist at all, but an inspector from the metropolis hiding under the mask of an artist. He was even accepted as a member of the Circle Military, a men's club for the elite, which usually accepted only officers and high officials.

But all this Pacific Gogolism did not last long. Gauguin failed to maintain this first impression. According to contemporaries, one of the main traits of his character was a certain strange arrogance. He often seemed arrogant, arrogant and narcissistic.

Biographers believe that the reason for this self-confidence was an unshakable belief in his talent and calling. A firm conviction that he is a great artist. On the one hand, this faith always allowed him to be an optimist and to withstand the most difficult trials. But this same faith was also the cause of numerous conflicts. Gauguin often made enemies for himself. And this is exactly what began to happen to him soon after his arrival in Tahiti.

In addition, it quickly became clear that as an artist he was very unique. The first portrait commissioned from him made a terrible impression. The catch was that Gauguin, wanting not to scare people away, tried to be simpler, that is, he worked in a purely realistic manner, and therefore gave the customer’s nose a natural red color. The customer considered it a mocking caricature, hid the painting in the attic, and a rumor spread throughout the city that Gauguin had neither tact nor talent. Naturally, after this, none of the wealthy residents of the Tahitian capital wanted to become his new “victim.” But he relied heavily on portraits. He hoped that this would become his main source of income.

Disappointed Gauguin wrote: “It was Europe - the Europe from which I left, only even worse, with colonial snobbery and grotesque imitation of our customs, fashions, vices and follies, grotesque to the point of caricature.”

Fruits of civilization

After the incident with the portrait, Gauguin decided to leave the city as soon as possible and finally do what he had traveled half the globe for: to study and paint real, unspoiled savages. The fact is that Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, extremely disappointed Gauguin. In fact, he was a hundred years late here. Missionaries, traders and other representatives of civilization had long since done their disgusting work: instead of a beautiful village with picturesque huts, Gauguin was met with rows of shops and taverns, as well as ugly, unplastered brick houses. The Polynesians did not at all resemble the naked Eves and wild Hercules that Gauguin imagined. They have already been properly civilized.

All this became a serious disappointment for Coquet (as the Tahitians called Gauguin). And when he learned that if he left the capital, he could still find his old life on the outskirts of the island, he, of course, began to strive to do this.

However, the departure did not take place immediately; Gauguin was prevented by an unforeseen circumstance: illness. Very severe hemorrhage and heart pain. All symptoms pointed to syphilis in the second stage. The second stage meant that Gauguin became infected many years ago, back in France. And here, in Tahiti, the course of the disease was only accelerated by the stormy and far from healthy life that he began to lead. And, it must be said that, having spat with the bureaucratic elite, he completely plunged into popular entertainment: he regularly attended parties of reckless Tahitians and the so-called, where he could always find a beauty for an hour without any problems. At the same time, of course, for Gauguin, communication with the natives was, first of all, an excellent opportunity to observe and sketch everything new that he saw.

A stay in the hospital cost Gauguin 12 francs a day, the money melted like ice in the tropics. In Papeete, the cost of living was generally higher than in Paris. And Gauguin loved to live large. All the money brought from France was gone. No new income was expected.

In search of savages

Once in Papeete, Gauguin met one of the regional leaders of Tahiti. The leader was distinguished by rare loyalty to the French and spoke their language fluently. Having received an invitation to live in the region of Tahiti subordinate to his new friend, Gauguin happily agreed. And he was right: it was one of the most beautiful areas of the island.

Gauguin settled in an ordinary Tahitian hut made of bamboo, with a leafy roof. At first he was happy and painted two dozen paintings: “It was so easy to paint things the way I saw them, to put red paint next to blue without deliberate calculation. I was fascinated by golden figures in rivers or on the seashore. What prevented me from conveying this triumph of the sun on canvas? Only an ingrained European tradition. Only the shackles of fear inherent in a degenerate people!”

Unfortunately, such happiness could not last long. The leader did not intend to take the artist on board, and it was impossible for a European who did not own land and did not know Tahitian agriculture to feed himself in these parts. He could neither hunt nor fish. And even if he learned over time, all his time would be spent on this - he would simply have no time to write.

Gauguin found himself in a financial impasse. There really wasn't enough money for anything. As a result, he was forced to ask to be sent home at government expense. True, while the petition was traveling from Tahiti to France, life seemed to be getting better: Gauguin managed to receive some orders for portraits, and also acquired a wife - a fourteen-year-old Tahitian named Teha'amana.

“I started working again and my home became a place of happiness. In the mornings, when the sun rose, my home was filled with bright light. Teha'amana's face shone like gold, illuminating everything around, and we went to the river and swam together, simply and naturally, as in the Gardens of Eden. I no longer distinguished between good and evil. Everything was perfect, everything was wonderful."

Complete failure

What followed was poverty mixed with happiness, hunger, exacerbation of the disease, despair and occasional financial support from the sale of paintings at home. With great difficulty, Gauguin returned to France in order to organize a large solo exhibition. Until the very last moment he was sure that triumph awaited him. After all, he brought several dozen truly revolutionary paintings from Tahiti - no artist had ever painted like this before. “Now I will find out whether it was madness on my part to go to Tahiti.”

And what? Indifferent, contemptuous faces of perplexed ordinary people. Complete failure. He left for distant lands when mediocrity refused to recognize his genius. And he hoped upon his return to appear in full height, in all his greatness. Let my flight be a defeat, he told himself, but my return will be a victory. Instead, his return only dealt him another crushing blow.

The newspapers called Gauguin's paintings "fabrications of a sick brain, an outrage against Art and Nature." “If you want to amuse your children, send them to the Gauguin exhibition,” the journalists wrote.

Gauguin's friends tried their best to persuade him not to give in to his natural impulse and not to immediately go back to the South Seas. But in vain. “Nothing will stop me from leaving, and I will stay there forever. Life in Europe - what idiocy!” He seemed to have forgotten about all the hardships that he had recently experienced in Tahiti. “If everything goes well, I will leave in February. And then I will be able to end my days as a free man, peacefully, without anxiety for the future, and no longer have to fight with idiots... I will not write, except perhaps for my own pleasure. I will have a wooden carved house.”

Invisible Enemy

In 1895, Gauguin went to Tahiti again and settled in the capital again. Actually, this time he was going to the Marquesas Islands, where he hoped to find a simpler and easier life. But he was tormented by the same untreated illness, and he chose Tahiti, where at least there was a hospital.

Illness, poverty, lack of recognition, these three components hung like an evil fate over Gauguin. No one wanted to buy the paintings left for sale in Paris, and in Tahiti no one needed him at all.

What finally broke him was the news of the sudden death of his nineteen-year-old daughter, perhaps the only creature on earth that he truly loved. “I was so used to constant misfortune that at first I didn’t feel anything,” Gauguin wrote. “But gradually my brain came to life, and every day the pain penetrated deeper, so that now I am completely killed. Honestly, you would think that somewhere in the transcendental realms I have an enemy who has decided not to give me a minute of peace.”

My health deteriorated at the same rate as my finances. The ulcers spread throughout the affected leg, and then spread to the second leg. Gauguin rubbed arsenic into them and wrapped his legs in bandages up to his knees, but the disease progressed. Then his eyes suddenly became inflamed. True, the doctors assured that it was not dangerous, but he could not write in such a state. They just treated his eyes - his leg hurt so bad that he couldn’t step on it and fell ill. The painkillers made him dull. If he tried to get up, he began to feel dizzy and he lost consciousness. At times the temperature rose. “Bad luck has haunted me since childhood. I have never known happiness or joy, only misfortune. And I exclaim: “Lord, if you exist, I accuse you of injustice and cruelty.” You see, after the news of the death of poor Alina, I could no longer believe in anything, I just laughed bitterly. What is the use of virtues, work, courage and intelligence?

People tried not to approach his house, thinking that he not only had syphilis, but also incurable leprosy (although this was not the case). On top of that, he began to suffer from severe heart attacks. He suffered from suffocation and was coughing up blood. It seemed that he really was subject to some kind of terrible curse.

At this time, in between attacks of dizziness and unbearable pain, a picture was slowly created that his descendants called his spiritual testament, the legendary “Where are we from? Who are we? Where are we going?".

Life after death

The seriousness of Gauguin's intentions is evidenced by the fact that the dose of arsenic he took was simply lethal. He really was going to commit suicide.

He took refuge in the mountains and swallowed the powder.

But it was precisely the too large dose that helped him survive: his body refused to accept it, and the artist vomited. Exhausted, Gauguin fell asleep, and when he woke up, he somehow crawled home.

Gauguin prayed to God for death. But instead, the disease receded.

He decided to build a large and comfortable house. And, continuing to hope that Parisians would soon begin to buy his paintings, he took out a very large loan. And in order to pay off his debts, he got a tedious job as a petty official. He made copies of drawings and plans and inspected roads. This work was dull and did not allow me to paint.

Everything changed suddenly. It was as if somewhere in heaven a dam of bad luck suddenly broke. Suddenly he receives 1000 francs from Paris (some of the paintings were finally sold), pays off part of the debt and leaves the service. Suddenly he finds himself as a journalist and, working in a local newspaper, achieves quite tangible results in this field: by playing on the political opposition of two local parties, he improves his financial affairs and regains the respect of local residents. There was nothing particularly joyful about it, however. After all, Gauguin still saw his calling in painting. And because of journalism, the great artist was torn from the canvas for two years.

But suddenly a man appeared in his life who managed to sell his paintings well and thereby literally saved Gauguin, allowing him to go back to his business. His name was Ambroise Vollard. In exchange for the guaranteed right to purchase, without looking, at least twenty-five paintings a year for two hundred francs each, Vollard began to pay Gauguin a monthly advance of three hundred francs. And also at your own expense to supply the artist with all the necessary materials. Gauguin dreamed of such an agreement all his life.

Having finally received financial freedom, Gauguin decided to fulfill his old dream and move to the Marquesas Islands.

It seemed that all the bad things were over. On the Marquesas Islands, he built a new house (naming it nothing less than “The Fun House”) and lived the way he had long wanted to live. Koke writes a lot, and spends the rest of the time in friendly feasts in the cool dining room of his “Fun Home”.

However, the happiness was short-lived: local residents dragged the “famous journalist” into political intrigue, problems began with the authorities, and as a result, he made many enemies for himself here too. And Gauguin’s illness, which had been subdued, knocked on the door again: severe pain in his leg, heart failure, weakness. He stopped leaving the house. Soon the pain became unbearable, and Gauguin once again had to resort to morphine. When he increased the dose to a dangerous limit, then, fearing poisoning, he switched to opium tincture, which made him sleepy all the time. He sat in the workshop for hours and played the harmonium. And the few listeners, gathered around these painful sounds, could not hold back their tears.

When he died, there was an empty bottle of opium tincture on the bedside table. Perhaps Gauguin, accidentally or intentionally, took an excessively large dose.

Three weeks after his funeral, the local bishop (and one of Gauguin's enemies) sent a letter to his superiors in Paris: "The only noteworthy event here was the sudden death of an unworthy man named Gauguin, who was a famous artist, but an enemy of God and all that is decent."

Eugene Henri Paul Gauguin

"Self-Portrait" 1888

Gauguin Paul (1848–1903), French painter. In his youth he served as a sailor, and from 1871–1883 ​​as a stockbroker in Paris. In the 1870s, Paul Gauguin began painting, took part in impressionist exhibitions, and took advice from Camille Pissarro. From 1883 he devoted himself entirely to art, which led Gauguin to poverty, separation from his family, and wanderings. In 1886, Gauguin lived in Pont-Aven (Brittany), in 1887 - in Panama and on the island of Martinique, in 1888, together with Vincent van Gogh, he worked in Arles, in 1889-1891 - in Le Pouldu (Brittany). The rejection of contemporary society aroused Gauguin's interest in the traditional way of life, in the art of archaic Greece, the countries of the Ancient East, and primitive cultures. In 1891, Gauguin left for the island of Tahiti (Oceania) and after a short (1893–1895) return to France, he settled on the islands permanently (first on Tahiti, from 1901 on the island of Hiva Oa). Even in France, the search for generalized images, the mysterious meaning of phenomena (“Vision after the Sermon”, 1888, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh; “Yellow Christ”, 1889, Albright Gallery, Buffalo) brought Gauguin closer to symbolism and brought him and a group of those who worked under his influence young artists to create a unique pictorial system - “synthetism”, in which the cut-off modeling of volumes, light-air and linear perspectives are replaced by a rhythmic comparison of individual planes of pure color, which completely fills the shapes of objects and plays a leading role in creating the emotional and psychological structure of the picture (“Cafe in Arles ”, 1888, Pushkin Museum, Moscow). This system was further developed in the paintings painted by Gauguin on the islands of Oceania. Depicting the lush full-blooded beauty of tropical nature, natural people unspoiled by civilization, the artist sought to embody the utopian dream of an earthly paradise, of human life in harmony with nature (“Are you jealous?”, 1892; “The King’s Wife,” 1896; “Collecting fruits”) ", 1899, - all paintings in the Pushkin Museum, Moscow; "Woman Holding a Fruit", 1893, Hermitage, St. Petersburg).

"Tahitian Landscape" 1891, Musée d'Orsay, Paris

"Two Girls" 1899, Metropolitan, New York

"Breton Landscape" 1894, Musée d'Orsay, Paris

"Portrait of Madeleine Bernard" 1888, Museum of Art, Grenoble

"Breton village in the snow" 1888, Museum of Art, Gothenburg

"Awakening the Spirit of the Dead" 1892, Knox Gallery, Buffalo

Gauguin's canvases, in terms of their decorative color, flatness and monumentality of composition, and the generality of the stylized design, similar to panels, bore many features of the Art Nouveau style that was emerging during this period, and influenced the creative searches of the masters of the “Nabi” group and other painters of the early 20th century. Gauguin also worked in the field of sculpture and graphics.

"Tahitian Women on the Beach" 1891

"Are you jealous?" 1892

"Women of Tahiti" 1892

"On the Coast" 1892

"Big Trees" 1891

"Never (Oh Tahiti)" 1897

"Saints' Day" 1894

"Vairumati" 1897

"When will you get married?" 1892

"By the Sea" 1892

"Alone" 1893

"Tahitian Pastorals" 1892

"Contes barbares" (Barbarian tales)

"Mask of Tehura" 1892, pua wood

"Merahi metua no Teha" amana (Ancestors of Teha "amana)" 1893

"Madame Mette Gauguin in Evening Dress"

In the summer at the end of the 80s of the last century, many French artists gathered in Pont-Aven (Brittany, France). They came together and almost immediately split into two hostile groups. One group included artists who embarked on the path of quest and were united by the common name “impressionists”. According to the second group, led by Paul Gauguin, this name was abusive. P. Gauguin was already under forty at that time. Surrounded by the mysterious aura of a traveler who had explored foreign lands, he had extensive life experience and admirers and imitators of his work.

Both camps were divided based on their position. While the Impressionists lived in attics or garrets, other artists occupied the best rooms of the Gloanek Hotel and dined in the largest and nicest hall of the restaurant, where members of the first group were not allowed. However, clashes between factions not only did not prevent P. Gauguin from working, on the contrary, they to some extent helped him realize those features that caused him a violent protest. The rejection of the analytical method of the impressionists was a manifestation of his complete rethinking of the tasks of painting. The desire of the impressionists to capture everything they saw, their very artistic principle - to give their paintings the appearance of something accidentally spotted - did not correspond to the imperious and energetic nature of P. Gauguin.

He was even less satisfied with the theoretical and artistic research of J. Seurat, who sought to reduce painting to the cold, rational use of scientific formulas and recipes. The pointillistic technique of J. Seurat, his methodical application of paint with cross strokes of the brush and dots irritated Paul Gauguin with its monotony.

The artist’s stay in Martinique among nature, which seemed to him a luxurious, fabulous carpet, finally convinced P. Gauguin to use only undecomposed color in his paintings. Together with him, the artists who shared his thoughts proclaimed “Synthesis” as their principle - that is, the synthetic simplification of lines, shapes and colors. The purpose of this simplification was to convey the impression of maximum color intensity and to omit everything that weakens such an impression. This technique formed the basis of old decorative painting of frescoes and stained glass.

P. Gauguin was very interested in the question of the relationship between color and paints. In his painting, he tried to express not the accidental and not the superficial, but the abiding and essential. For him, only the creative will of the artist was the law, and he saw his artistic task in the expression of inner harmony, which he understood as a synthesis of the frankness of nature and the mood of the artist’s soul, alarmed by this frankness. P. Gauguin himself spoke about it this way: “I do not take into account the truth of nature, visible externally... Correct this false perspective, which distorts the subject due to its truthfulness... You should avoid dynamism. Let everything breathe with you peace and peace of mind , avoid moving poses... Each of the characters should be in a static position." And he shortened the perspective of his paintings, bringing it closer to the plane, deploying the figures in a frontal position and avoiding foreshortening. That is why the people depicted by P. Gauguin are motionless in the paintings: they are like statues sculpted with a large chisel without unnecessary details.

The period of Paul Gauguin's mature creativity began in Tahiti, and it was here that the problem of artistic synthesis received its full development for him. In Tahiti, the artist abandoned much of what he knew: in the tropics, forms are clear and definite, shadows are heavy and hot, and contrasts are especially sharp. Here all the tasks he set in Pont-Aven were resolved by themselves. P. Gauguin's paints become pure, without brushstrokes. His Tahitian paintings give the impression of oriental carpets or frescoes, so harmoniously the colors in them are brought to a certain tone.

"Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?"

The work of P. Gauguin of this period (meaning the artist’s first visit to Tahiti) seems to be a wonderful fairy tale that he experienced among the primitive, exotic nature of distant Polynesia. In the Mataye area, he finds a small village, buys himself a hut, on one side of which the ocean splashes, and on the other, a mountain with a huge crevice is visible. The Europeans had not yet reached here, and life seemed to P. Gauguin a real earthly paradise. It obeys the slow rhythm of Tahitian life, absorbs the bright colors of the blue sea, occasionally covered with green waves crashing noisily on the coral reefs.

From the first days, the artist established simple, human relations with the Tahitians. The work begins to captivate P. Gauguin more and more. He makes numerous sketches and sketches from life, in any case he tries to capture on canvas, paper or wood the characteristic faces of the Tahitians, their figures and poses - in the process of work or during rest. During this period, he created the world-famous paintings “The Spirit of the Dead is Awakening”, “Are You Jealous?”, “Conversation”, “Tahitian Pastorals”.

But if in 1891 the path to Tahiti seemed radiant to him (he was traveling here after some artistic victories in France), then the second time he went to his beloved island as a sick man who had lost most of his illusions. Everything along the way irritated him: forced stops, useless expenses, road inconveniences, customs quibbles, intrusive fellow travelers...

He had not been to Tahiti for only two years, and so much had changed here. The European raid destroyed the original life of the natives, everything seems to P. Gauguin an unbearable jumble: electric lighting in Papeete - the capital of the island, and unbearable carousels near the royal castle, and the sounds of a phonograph disturbing the former silence.

This time the artist stops in the Punoauia area, on the west coast of Tahiti, and builds a house on a rented plot of land overlooking the sea and mountains. Hoping to firmly establish himself on the island and create conditions for work, he spares no expense in organizing his home and soon, as is often the case, he is left without money. P. Gauguin counted on friends who, before the artist left France, borrowed a total of 4,000 francs from him, but they were in no hurry to return them. Despite the fact that he sent them numerous reminders of his duty, complained about his fate and extremely plight...

By the spring of 1896, the artist finds himself in the grip of the most severe need. Added to this is the pain in his broken leg, which becomes covered in ulcers and causes him unbearable suffering, depriving him of sleep and energy. The thought of the futility of efforts in the struggle for existence, of the failure of all artistic plans makes him think more and more often about suicide. But as soon as P. Gauguin feels the slightest relief, the artist’s nature takes over in him, and pessimism dissipates before the joy of life and creativity.

However, these were rare moments, and misfortunes followed one after another with catastrophic regularity. And the most terrible news for him was the news from France about the death of his beloved daughter Alina. Unable to survive the loss, P. Gauguin took a huge dose of arsenic and went into the mountains so that no one could stop him. The suicide attempt led to him spending the night in terrible agony, without any help and completely alone.

For a long time the artist was in complete prostration and could not hold a brush in his hands. His only consolation was a huge canvas (450 x 170 cm), painted by him before his suicide attempt. He called the painting "Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?" and in one of his letters he wrote: “Before I died, I put into it all my energy, such a sorrowful passion in my terrible circumstances, and a vision so clear, without correction, that traces of haste disappeared and all life was visible in it.”

P. Gauguin worked on the painting in terrible tension, although he had been nurturing the idea for it in his imagination for a long time, he himself could not say exactly when the idea of ​​this painting first arose. He wrote individual fragments of this monumental work in different years and in other works. For example, the female figure from “Tahitian Pastorals” is repeated in this painting next to the idol, the central figure of a fruit picker was found in the golden sketch “A Man Picking Fruit from a Tree”...

Dreaming of expanding the possibilities of painting, Paul Gauguin sought to give his painting the character of a fresco. To this end, he leaves the two upper corners (one with the title of the painting, the other with the artist’s signature) yellow and not filled with painting - “like a fresco damaged at the corners and superimposed on a wall of gold.”

In the spring of 1898, he sent the painting to Paris, and in a letter to the critic A. Fontaine said that his goal was “not to create a complex chain of ingenious allegories that would need to be solved. On the contrary, the allegorical content of the painting is extremely simple - but not in the sense of an answer to the questions posed, but in the sense of the very formulation of these questions.” Paul Gauguin did not intend to answer the questions he put in the title of the painting, because he believed that they were and would be the most terrible and sweetest riddle for the human consciousness. Therefore, the essence of the allegories depicted on this canvas lies in the purely pictorial embodiment of this mystery hidden in nature, the sacred horror of immortality and the mystery of existence.

On his first visit to Tahiti, P. Gauguin looked at the world with the enthusiastic eyes of a big child-people, for whom the world had not yet lost its novelty and lush originality. To his childishly exalted gaze, colors invisible to others were revealed in nature: emerald grass, sapphire sky, amethyst sun shadow, ruby ​​flowers and red gold of Maori skin. Tahitian paintings by P. Gauguin of this period glow with a noble golden glow, like the stained glass windows of Gothic cathedrals, shimmer with the regal splendor of Byzantine mosaics, and are fragrant with rich spills of colors.

The loneliness and deep despair that possessed him on his second visit to Tahiti forced P. Gauguin to see everything only in black. However, the master’s natural flair and his eye as a colorist did not allow the artist to completely lose his taste for life and its colors, although he created a gloomy canvas, painted it in a state of mystical horror.

So what does this picture actually contain? Like eastern manuscripts, which should be read from right to left, the content of the picture unfolds in the same direction: step by step, the course of human life is revealed - from its origin to death, which carries the fear of non-existence.

In front of the viewer, on a large, horizontally stretched canvas, is depicted the bank of a forest stream, in the dark waters of which mysterious, indefinite shadows are reflected. On the other bank there is dense, lush tropical vegetation, emerald grasses, dense green bushes, strange blue trees, “growing as if not on earth, but in paradise.”

The tree trunks strangely twist and intertwine, forming a lacy network, through which in the distance one can see the sea with the white crests of coastal waves, a dark purple mountain on a neighboring island, a blue sky - “a spectacle of virgin nature that could be paradise.”

In the near shot of the picture, on the ground, free of any plants, a group of people is located around a stone statue of a deity. The characters are not united by any one event or common action, each is busy with his own and immersed in himself. The peace of the sleeping baby is guarded by a large black dog; "three women, squatting, seem to be listening to themselves, frozen in anticipation of some unexpected joy. A young man standing in the center with both hands plucks a fruit from a tree... One figure, deliberately huge, contrary to the laws of perspective... raises his hand, with looking in surprise at two characters who dare to think about their fate."

Next to the statue, a lonely woman, as if mechanically, walks to the side, immersed in a state of intense, concentrated reflection. A bird is moving towards her on the ground. On the left side of the canvas, a child sitting on the ground brings a fruit to his mouth, a cat laps from a bowl... And the viewer asks himself: “What does all this mean?”

At first glance, it seems like everyday life, but, in addition to the direct meaning, each image carries a poetic allegory, a hint of the possibility of figurative interpretation. For example, the motif of a forest stream or spring water gushing out of the ground is Gauguin’s favorite metaphor for the source of life, the mysterious beginning of existence. The sleeping baby represents the chastity of the dawn of human life. A young man picking a fruit from a tree and women sitting on the ground to the right embody the idea of ​​the organic unity of man with nature, the naturalness of his existence in it.

A man with a raised hand, looking at his friends in surprise, is the first glimmer of concern, the initial impulse to comprehend the secrets of the world and existence. Others reveal the audacity and suffering of the human mind, the mystery and tragedy of the spirit, which are contained in the inevitability of man’s knowledge of his mortal destiny, the brevity of earthly existence and the inevitability of the end.

Paul Gauguin himself gave many explanations, but he warned against the desire to see generally accepted symbols in his painting, to decipher the images too straightforwardly, and even more so to look for answers. Some art critics believe that the artist’s depressed state, which led him to attempt suicide, was expressed in a strict, laconic artistic language. They note that the picture is overloaded with small details that do not clarify the overall plan, but only confuse the viewer. Even the explanations in the master’s letters cannot dispel the mystical fog that he put into these details.

P. Gauguin himself regarded his work as a spiritual testament, perhaps that is why the painting became a pictorial poem, in which specific images were transformed into a sublime idea, and matter into spirit. The plot of the canvas is dominated by a poetic mood, rich in subtle shades and inner meaning. However, the mood of peace and grace is already shrouded in a vague anxiety of contact with the mysterious world, giving rise to a feeling of hidden anxiety, the painful unsolvability of the hidden mysteries of existence, the mystery of man’s coming into the world and the mystery of his disappearance. In the picture, happiness is darkened by suffering, spiritual torment is washed by the sweetness of physical existence - “golden horror, covered with joy.” Everything is inseparable, just like in life.

P. Gauguin deliberately does not correct incorrect proportions, striving at all costs to preserve his sketch style. He valued this sketchiness and unfinishedness especially highly, believing that it is precisely this that brings a living stream into the canvas and imparts to the picture a special poetry that is not characteristic of things that are finished and overly finished.

"Still life"

"Jacob Wrestling with the Angel" 1888

"Loss of virginity"

"Mysterious Spring" (Pape moe)

"The Birth of Christ the Son of God (Te tamari no atua)"

"Yellow Christ"

"Month of Mary"

"Woman Holding a Fruit" 1893

“Cafe in Arles”, 1888, Pushkin Museum, Moscow

"The King's Wife" 1896

"Yellow Christ"

"White horse"

"Idol" 1898 Hermitage

"Dream" (Te rerioa)

"Poimes barbares (Barbarian poems)"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Gauguin"

"Self-portrait" approx. 1890-1899

"Self-Portrait with Palette" Private collection 1894

"Self-Portrait" 1896

"Self-portrait on Calvary" 1896

The contradictory character of the French post-impressionist artist Paul Gauguin and his unusual fate created a special new reality in his works, where color plays a dominant role. Unlike the Impressionists, who attached significance to shadows, the artist conveyed his thoughts through a restrained composition, a clear outline of figures and colors. Gauguin's maximalism, his rejection of European civilization and restraint, increased interest in the cultures of the islands of South America alien to Europe, the introduction of the new concept of “synthetism” and the desire to find a sense of heaven on earth allowed the artist to take his special place in the art world of the late 19th century.

From civilization to overseas countries

Paul Gauguin was born on June 7, 1848 in Paris. His parents were a French journalist, an adherent of radical republicanism, and a mother of French-Peruvian origin. After an unsuccessful revolutionary coup, the family was forced to move to their mother’s parents in Peru. The artist’s father died of a heart attack during the journey, and Paul’s family lived in South America for seven years.

Returning to France, the Gauguins settled in Orleans. Paul quickly became tired of the unremarkable life of a provincial town. Adventurous character traits led him to a merchant ship, and then to the navy, in which Paul visited Brazil, Panama, the islands of Oceania, and continued his travels from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle until he left the service. By this time, the future artist was left alone, his mother had died. Gustave Aroz took guardianship over him, and he employed Paul in a stock exchange firm. A decent income and success in a new field should have predetermined the life of a wealthy bourgeois for many years.

Family or creativity

At the same time, Gauguin met the governess Mette-Sophia Gard, who accompanied the wealthy Danish heiress. The governess's curvaceous figure, determination, laughing face and manner of speaking without deliberate timidity captivated Gauguin. Metta-Sophia Gad was not distinguished by sensuality, did not recognize coquetry, she behaved freely and expressed herself directly, which distinguished her from other young people. This repulsed many men, but on the contrary, it captivated the dreamer Gauguin. In self-confidence, he saw an original character, and the girl’s presence drove away the loneliness that tormented him. Metta seemed to him like a patroness, in whose arms he could feel as calm as a child. The offer of the wealthy Gauguin relieved Mette of the need to think about her daily bread. On November 22, 1873, the marriage took place. This marriage produced five children: a girl and four boys. Paul named his daughter and second son in honor of his parents: Clovis and Alina.

Could the young wife have thought that her wealthy, respectable life would be broken by the innocent brush of an artist in the hands of her husband, who one winter day would announce to her that from now on he would only engage in painting, and she and her children would be forced to return to relatives in Denmark.

From impressionism to synthetism

For Gauguin, painting was the path to liberation, the stock exchange was irretrievably lost time. Only in creativity, without wasting time on hated responsibilities, could he be himself. Having reached a critical point, having quit the stock exchange, which brought in a good income, Gauguin became convinced that everything was far from so simple. The savings melted away, the paintings did not sell, but the return to work on the stock exchange and the abandonment of the newfound freedom horrified Gauguin.

Uncertainly, gropingly, moving blindly, Gauguin tried to grasp the world of colors and shapes raging within him. Under the influence of Manet, he painted a number of still lifes at this time and created a series of works on the theme of the coast of Brittany. But the pull of civilization forces him to go to Martinique, participate in the construction of the Panama Canal, and recover from swamp fever in the Antilles.

The works of the island period become unusually colorful, bright, and do not fit into the framework of the canons of impressionism. Later, having arrived in France, Gauguin in Pont-Aven united artists into the school of “color synthetism,” which was characterized by simplification and generalization of forms: the outline of a dark line was filled with a spot of color. This method gave the works expressiveness and at the same time decorativeness, making them very bright. It was in this manner that “Jacob Wrestling with the Angel” and “The Cafe in Arles” (1888) were written. This was all significantly different from the play of shadows, the play of light breaking through the foliage, the highlights on the water - all those techniques that are so characteristic of the impressionists.

After the failure of the exhibition of impressionists and "synthetics", Gauguin leaves France and goes to Oceania. The islands of Tahiti and Dominic fully corresponded to his dream of a world devoid of signs of European civilization. Numerous works from this period are distinguished by open solar brightness, conveying the rich colors of Polynesia. Techniques for stylizing static figures on a color plane turn compositions into decorative panels. The desire to live according to the laws of primitive man, without the influence of civilization, was stopped by a forced return to France due to poor physical health.

Fatal friendship

Gauguin spends some time in Paris, Brittany, and stays with Van Gogh in Arles, where a tragic incident occurs. Gauguin's enthusiastic admirers in Brittany unwittingly gave the artist the opportunity to treat Van Gogh from the position of a teacher. Van Gogh's exaltation and Gauguin's maximalism led to serious scandals between them, during one of which Van Gogh rushes at Gauguin with a knife and then cuts off part of his ear. This episode forces Gauguin to leave Arles and after some time return to Tahiti.

Looking for heaven on earth

A thatched hut, a remote village and a bright palette in the works, reflecting tropical nature: sea, greenery, sun. The canvases of this time depict Gauguin’s young wife, Tehura, whom her parents willingly gave in marriage at the age of thirteen.

A constant lack of money, health problems, and a serious venereal disease caused by promiscuous relationships with local girls forced Gauguin to return to France again. Having received an inheritance, the artist returned to Tahiti again, then to the island of Hiva Oa, where in May 1903 he died of a heart attack.

Three weeks after Gauguin's death, his property was inventoried and auctioned off for next to nothing. A certain “expert” from the capital of Tahiti simply threw away some of the drawings and watercolors. The remaining works were bought at auction by naval officers. The most expensive work, “Motherhood,” went under the hammer for one hundred and fifty francs, and the appraiser generally showed “Breton Village in the Snow” upside down, giving it the name… “Niagara Falls.”

Post-Imresionist and innovator of synthetism

Along with Cezanne, Seurat and Van Gogh, Gauguin is considered the greatest master of post-impressionism. Having absorbed his lessons, he created his own unique artistic language, introducing into the history of modern painting the rejection of traditional naturalism, taking abstract symbols and figures of nature as a starting point, emphasizing striking and mysterious color weaves.

When writing the article, the following literature was used:
“Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Painting”, compiled by E.V. Ivanova
“Encyclopedia of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism”, compiled by T.G. Petrovets
“The Life of Gauguin”, A. Perruch

Marina Staskevich

At the beginning of his biography, Paul Gauguin was a sailor, later a successful stockbroker in Paris. In 1874 he began to paint, initially on weekends. By the age of 35, with the support of Camille Pissarro, Gauguin devoted himself entirely to art, abandoning his lifestyle, moving away from his wife and five children. Having established a connection with the Impressionists, Gauguin exhibited his work with them from 1879 to 1886. The next year he left for Panama and Maritinique. Struggling with the “disease” of civilization, Gauguin decided to live according to the principles of primitive man. However, physical illness forced him to return to France. Paul Gauguin spent the following years in his biography in Paris, Brittany, making a short but tragic stop in Arles with van Gogh.

In 1888, Gauguin and Emile Bernard put forward a synthetic theory of art (symbolism), emphasizing planes and the reflection of light, non-natural colors in combination with symbolic or primitive objects. Gauguin's painting "The Yellow Christ" (Albright Gallery, Buffalo) is a characteristic work of the period. In 1891, Gauguin sold 30 paintings, and then went to Tahiti with the proceeds. There he spent two years living in poverty, painted some of his last works, and also wrote Noa Noa, an autobiographical short story.

In 1893, Gauguin's biography included a return to France. He presented several of his works. With this, the artist renewed public interest, but earned very little money. Broken in spirit, sick with syphilis, which had been causing him pain for many years, Gauguin again moved to the southern seas, to Oceania. Gauguin spent the last years of his life there, where he suffered hopelessly and physically. In 1897, Gauguin tried to commit suicide, but failed. Then he spent another five years drawing. He died on the island of Hiva Oa (Marquesas Islands).

Today Gauguin is considered an artist who has had an extremely great influence on modern art. He rejected traditional Western naturalism, using nature as a starting point for abstract figures and symbols. He emphasized linear patterns and striking color harmonies that imbued his paintings with a strong sense of mystery. Over the course of his life, Gauguin revitalized the art of woodblock printing, performing free, daring knife work, as well as expressive, non-standard forms, strong contrasts. In addition, Gauguin created several beautiful lithographs and pottery works.

Many works by Gauguin are presented in the United States, including “The Day of the God” (Art Institute of Chicago), “Ia Orana Maria” (1891, Metropolitan Museum of Art), “By the Sea” (1892, National Gallery, Washington), “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?” (1897, Museum of Art Arts, Boston). William Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence (1919), based on the events of Gauguin's life, did much to promote the artist's legend, which arose shortly after his death.

He was a successful entrepreneur and in a few years managed to amass a large fortune, which would be enough to provide for his entire family - his wife and five children. But at one point this man came home and said that he wanted to exchange his boring financial work for oil paints, brushes and canvas. Thus, he left the stock exchange and, carried away by what he loved, was left with nothing.

Now the post-impressionist paintings of Paul Gauguin are valued at more than one million dollars. For example, in 2015, the artist’s painting entitled “When is the wedding?” (1892), depicting two Tahitian women and a picturesque tropical landscape, was sold at auction for $300 million. But it turned out that during his lifetime the talented Frenchman, like his colleague, never received the recognition and fame he deserved. For the sake of art, Gauguin deliberately doomed himself to the existence of a poor wanderer and exchanged a rich life for undisguised poverty.

Childhood and youth

The future artist was born in the city of love - the capital of France - on June 7, 1848, at that troubled time when the country of Cézanne and Parmesan was faced with political upheavals that affected the lives of all citizens - from unremarkable merchants to large entrepreneurs. Paul's father, Clovis, comes from the petty bourgeoisie of Orleans, who worked as a liberal journalist in the local newspaper National and scrupulously covered the chronicles of government affairs.

His wife Alina Maria was a native of sunny Peru, grew up and was brought up in a noble family. Alina’s mother and, accordingly, Gauguin’s grandmother, the illegitimate daughter of the nobleman Don Mariano and Flora Tristan, adhered to the political ideas of utopian socialism, became the author of critical essays and the autobiographical book “The Wanderings of the Party.” The union of Flora and her husband Andre Chazal ended sadly: the would-be lover attacked his wife and went to prison for attempted murder.

Due to political upheavals in France, Clovis, worried about the safety of his family, was forced to flee the country. In addition, the authorities closed the publishing house where he worked, and the journalist was left without a livelihood. Therefore, the head of the family, along with his wife and small children, went on a ship to Peru in 1850.

Gauguin's father was filled with good hopes: he dreamed of settling in a South American country and, under the auspices of his wife's parents, founding his own newspaper. But the man’s plans failed to come true, because during the journey Clovis unexpectedly died of a heart attack. Therefore, Alina returned to her homeland as a widow along with 18-month-old Gauguin and his 2-year-old sister Marie.

Paul lived until the age of seven in an ancient South American state, the picturesque mountainous outskirts of which excite the imagination of any person. Young Gauguin was an eye-catcher: at his uncle’s estate in Lima, he was surrounded by servants and nurses. Paul retained a vivid memory of that period of childhood; he recalled with pleasure the boundless expanses of Peru, the impressions of which haunted the gifted artist for the rest of his life.

Gauguin's idyllic childhood in this tropical paradise came to an abrupt end. Due to civil conflicts in Peru in 1854, prominent relatives on her mother's side lost political power and privileges. In 1855, Alina returned to France with Marie to receive an inheritance from her uncle. The woman settled in Paris and began to earn her living as a dressmaker, while Paul remained in Orleans, where he was raised by his paternal grandfather. Thanks to perseverance and work, in 1861 Gauguin’s mother became the owner of her own sewing workshop.

After several local schools, Gauguin was sent to a prestigious Catholic boarding school (Petit Seminaire de La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin). Paul was a diligent student, so he excelled in many subjects, but the talented young man was especially good at French.

When the future artist turned 14 years old, he entered the Parisian naval preparatory school and was preparing to enter the naval school. But, fortunately or unfortunately, in 1865 the young man failed the exams at the selection committee, so, without losing hope, he hired a ship as a pilot. Thus, young Gauguin set off on a journey across boundless expanses of water and throughout his time traveled to many countries, visited South America, the Mediterranean coast, and explored the northern seas.

While Paul was at sea, his mother died of illness. Gauguin remained in the dark about the terrible tragedy for several months, until a letter with unpleasant news from his sister overtook him on his way to India. In her will, Alina recommended that her son pursue a career, because, in her opinion, Gauguin, due to his obstinate disposition, would not be able to rely on friends or relatives in case of trouble.

Paul did not contradict his mother’s last wishes and in 1871 he went to Paris to begin an independent life. The young man was lucky because his mother's friend Gustave Arosa helped the 23-year-old orphaned guy get from rags to riches. Gustave, a stockbroker, recommended Paul to the company, due to which the young man received the position of broker.

Painting

The talented Gauguin succeeded in his profession, and the man began to have money. Over the course of a ten-year career, he became a respectable man in society and managed to provide his family with a comfortable apartment in the city center. Like his guardian Gustave Arosa, Paul began to buy paintings by famous impressionists, and in his free time, inspired by the paintings, Gauguin began to try his talent.

Between 1873 and 1874, Paul created the first vibrant landscapes that reflected Peruvian culture. One of the young artist’s debut works, “Forest Thicket in Viroff,” was exhibited at the Salon and received rave reviews from critics. Soon the aspiring master met Camille Pissarro, a French painter. Warm friendly relations began between these two creative people; Gauguin often visited his mentor in the northwestern suburb of Paris - Pontoise.

The artist, who hated social life and loved solitude, increasingly spent his free time drawing pictures; gradually the broker began to be perceived not as an employee of a large company, but as a gifted artist. Gauguin's fate was largely influenced by his acquaintance with a certain original representative of the impressionist movement. Degas supports Paul both morally and financially, buying his expressive paintings.

In search of inspiration and a break from the bustling capital of France, the master packed his suitcase and set off on a trip. So he visited Panama, lived with Van Gogh in Arles, and visited Brittany. In 1891, remembering a happy childhood spent in his mother’s homeland, Gauguin left for Tahiti, a volcanic island whose vastness gives free rein to his imagination. He admired the coral reefs, dense jungles where juicy fruits grow, and the azure seashores. Paul tried to convey all the natural colors he saw on the canvases, due to which Gauguin’s creations turned out to be original and bright.

The artist observed what was happening around him and captured what he observed with a sensitive artistic eye in his works. So, the plot of the film “Are you jealous?” (1892) appeared before Gauguin's eyes in reality. Having just bathed, two Tahitian sisters lay down in relaxed poses on the shore under the scorching sun. From the girl’s dialogue about love, Gauguin heard discord: “How? Are you jealous!". Paul later admitted that this painting is one of his favorite creations.

In the same 1892, the master painted the mystical canvas “The Spirit of the Dead Does Not Sleep,” made in dark, mysterious purple tones. The viewer sees a naked Tahitian woman lying on a bed, and behind her a spirit in a dark robe. The fact is that one day the artist’s lamp ran out of oil. He struck a match to illuminate the space, thereby frightening Tehura. Paul began to wonder if this girl could take the artist not for a person, but for a ghost or spirit, which the Tahitians are very afraid of. These mystical thoughts of Gauguin inspired him with the plot of the picture.

A year later, the master painted another picture called “Woman Holding a Fruit.” Following his style, Gauguin signs this masterpiece with a second, Maori, title Euhaereiaoe (“Where are [you] going?”). In this work, as in all of Paul’s works, man and nature are static, as if merging together. This painting was originally purchased by a Russian merchant; currently the work is located within the walls of the State Hermitage. Among other things, the author of The Sewing Woman in the last years of his life wrote the book NoaNoa, published in 1901.

Personal life

In 1873, Paul Gauguin proposed marriage to the Danish woman Matte-Sophie Gad, who agreed and gave her lover four children: two boys and two girls. Gauguin adored his first-born Emil, who was born in 1874. Many of the master’s paintings of brushes and paints are decorated with the image of a serious boy, who, judging by the works, was fond of reading books.

Unfortunately, the family life of the great impressionist was not cloudless. The master’s paintings were not sold and did not bring in the income they once had, and the artist’s wife was not of the opinion that heaven was in the hut with her dear one. Due to the plight of Paul, who could barely make ends meet, quarrels and conflicts often arose between the spouses. After arriving in Tahiti, Gauguin married a young local beauty.

Death

While Gauguin was in Papeete, he worked very productively and managed to paint about eighty canvases, which are considered the best in his career. But fate prepared new obstacles for the talented man. Gauguin failed to gain recognition and fame among admirers of creativity, so he plunged into depression.

Because of the dark streak that came in his life, Paul attempted suicide more than once. The artist’s state of mind gave rise to poor health; the author of “A Breton Village in the Snow” fell ill with leprosy. The great master died on the island on May 9, 1903 at the age of 54.

Unfortunately, as often happens, fame came to Gauguin only after his death: three years after the death of the master, his canvases were put on public display in Paris. In memory of Paul, the film “The Wolf on the Doorstep” was made in 1986, where the role of the artist was played by the famous Hollywood actor. The British prose writer also wrote a biographical work, “The Moon and a Penny,” where Paul Gauguin became the prototype for the main character.

Works

• 1880 – “Sewing Woman”
• 1888 – “Vision after the Sermon”
• 1888 – “Cafe in Arles”
• 1889 – “Yellow Christ”
• 1891 – “Woman with a Flower”
• 1892 – “The spirit of the dead does not sleep”
• 1892 - “Oh, are you jealous?”
• 1893 – “Woman Holding a Fruit”
• 1893 – “Her name was Vairaumati”
• 1894 – “The Evil Spirit’s Fun”
• 1897–1898 – “Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?"
• 1897 – “Never Again”
• 1899 – “Collecting fruits”
• 1902 – “Still Life with Parrots”