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What city did Gauguin like to draw. obscene artist

What city did Gauguin like to draw. obscene artist

09.07.2019

In the summer of 1895, in Papeete, the main port of the French colony of Tahiti, the steamer "Australian", which had left Marseilles a few months earlier, moored. Second-class passengers crowded the upper deck. The spectacle that presented their eyes did not cause much joy - a pier knocked together from roughly hewn logs, a string of whitewashed houses under palm roofs, a wooden cathedral, a two-story governor's palace, a hut with the inscription "Gendarmerie" ...

Paul Gauguin is 47 years old, a ruined life and broken hopes were left behind, nothing was waiting ahead - an artist ridiculed by his contemporaries, a father forgotten by his own children, a writer who became a laughing stock of Parisian journalists. The steamer turned around, hit the side of the logs of the pier, the sailors threw over the gangway, and a crowd of merchants and officials rushed down. A tall, stooped, prematurely aged man in a loose blouse and wide trousers descended. Gauguin walked slowly - he really had nowhere to hurry.

The devil who took care of his family took his own - and there was a time when he, now an outcast artist who shared the fate of his insane relatives, was considered the most prosperous of the bourgeois.

During the French Revolution, his great-grandmother Teresa Lehne went to Spain. There she took away from the family of a nobleman, commander of the dragoon regiment and holder of the Order of St. James, Don Mariano de Tristan Moscoso. When he died, Teresa, not wishing to trifle and humiliate herself before the relatives of her unmarried husband, claimed the rights to all his fortune, but did not receive a centime and died in poverty and insanity.

His grandmother was well known in the working-class districts of Paris - Flora ran away from a quiet engraver, head over heels in love with his charming fury. The poor fellow tried for a long time to return the unfaithful spouse, bothered her with letters, begged for meetings. However, this did not help, and one fine day Antoine Chazal, the grandfather of the future artist, showed up to her with a loaded pistol. Flora's wound turned out to be harmless, but her beauty and her husband's complete lack of remorse made a proper impression on the jury - the royal court sent the engraver to hard labor for life. And Flora left for Latin America. The brother of Don Mariano, who settled there, did not give the stray niece a penny, and after that Flora forever hated the rich: she collected money for political prisoners, striking the participants in underground gatherings with furious performances and strict Spanish beauty.

Her daughter was a quiet and reasonable woman: Alina Gauguin managed to get along with her Spanish relatives. She and her son settled in Peru, in the palace of the aged Don Pio de Tristan Moscoso. The eighty-year-old millionaire treated her like a queen, little Paul was to inherit a quarter of his fortune. But the demon that took possession of this family waited in the wings: when Don Pio died and his direct heirs instead of a huge fortune offered Alina only a small annuity, she refused and started a hopeless lawsuit. As a result, Alina spent the rest of her life in dire poverty. Paul Gauguin's grandfather wore a striped robe and dragged a chain to which a cannonball was chained, his grandmother's name adorned police reports, and, to the surprise of all his relatives, he grew up to be a sensible, obligatory person - his boss, stockbroker Paul Bertin, could not brag on him.

A carriage drawn by a pair of blacks, a cozy mansion stuffed with antique furniture and antique china - Gauguin's wife, a magnificent blond Danish Metta, was pleased with her life and her husband. Calm, economic, non-drinking, hard-working - that's just the extra word from him and you can't pull it out with ticks. Cold gray-blue eyes, slightly covered by heavy eyelids, the shoulders of a hammerer - Paul Gauguin bent horseshoes. He nearly strangled his colleague, who knocked his top hat off him as a joke, right in the hall of the Paris stock exchange. But if he was not driven out of himself, he dozed on the go. He used to go out to his wife's guests in a nightgown. However, poor Metta did not suspect that the mansion, and the departure, and the bank account (and herself) were a misunderstanding, an accident that had nothing to do with the real Paul Gauguin.

In his youth, he served in the merchant marine - sailed across the Atlantic on sailing ships, climbed the shrouds, hung over the stormy ocean on a huge swinging mast. Gauguin went to sea as a simple sailor and rose to the rank of lieutenant. Then there was the combat corvette "Jerome Napoleon", research voyages in the northern seas and the war with Prussia. Seven years later, Paul Gauguin was written off to the shore. He got a job at the exchange, and life went like clockwork ... Until painting intervened in it.

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The shore, on which Gauguin descended, sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow: bright green palm leaves, water shining like molten steel, and colorful tropical fruits merged into a fantastic dazzling extravaganza. He shook his head and closed his eyes - it seemed to him that he stepped onto his own canvas, easily, effortlessly entered the world that had haunted his imagination for many years. But the colors of the local god were, perhaps, brighter than those of Paul Gauguin - it would be worth looking at Papeete basking in the evening sun for those who considered him crazy.

His wife was the first to call it that when he told her that he was leaving the stock exchange for the sake of painting. She took the children and went home to Copenhagen. She was echoed by newspaper critics and even friends who often helped him with a piece of bread: there was a time when he walked around Paris in wooden shoes, without a penny in his pocket, not knowing how to feed his son who did not want to part with him. The child often caught colds and got sick, and the father had nothing to pay the doctor and nothing to buy paints - the savings of the former stockbroker scattered in six months, and no one wanted to buy his paintings.

Pale yellow gas lamps were lit in the Parisian streets in the evenings; the leather roofs of the cabs shone in the rain, smartly dressed people came out of theaters and restaurants; at the entrance to the Salon, where artists recognized by the public and connoisseurs exhibited, bright posters hung. And he, hungry and wet, splashed through the puddles in his huge clogs sliding on the damp paving stones. He was poor, but did not regret anything - Gauguin knew for sure that glory awaited him ahead.

All the land in Tahiti belonged to the Catholic mission, and Gauguin made his first visit to its head, Bishop Martin. The diocese did not scatter its good: before Gauguin persuaded the holy father to sell him a plot for the construction of a hut, the artist had to endure many masses and go to confession more than once. Years passed, and aged, who lived out his life in one of the Provence monasteries, Father Martin willingly shared his memories with Gauguin's admirers who visited him - in his opinion, the main enemy of the artist was the demon of ambition and pride: "To judge what Paul Gauguin did for art "Only God can, and he was not a good man. Look sensibly, monsieur, he left his wife penniless, allowed her to take away five children from him, and I did not hear a word of regret from him! An adult man abandoned a business that gave a sure piece of bread, for the sake of art - and after all, painting must be learned from an early age! And it would be fine if he was content with the modest fate of an honest servant of the muses, conscientiously transferring God's wondrous creations to the canvas. But no - the madman himself wanted to be compared with the Lord, he replaced God's world with the fruits of his crazy imagination He rebelled against God, like an angel of darkness, and the Lord overthrew him, like Satanail, - the artist Gauguin ended his days in drunkenness and debauchery, suffering from a shameful disease ... "

During the life of the artist, Father Martin used this text more than once for Sunday sermons. He had his own reasons for dissatisfaction with the visiting muff: Gauguin took away the most beautiful of his mistresses, the fourteen-year-old student of the missionary school, Henriette, and even wrote to Paris about how, during the solemn mass, Henriette grabbed the hair of the Martin housekeeper. Her words "The Bishop bought you a silk dress because you, whore, sleep with him more often!" Thanks to Gauguin, they reached Rome itself - Father Martin remained in the memory of the clergy only thanks to them.

Gauguin no longer went to Sunday sermons, he didn’t put a bishop in a penny, but nevertheless he knew his demons by sight - in old age a person becomes wiser and begins to understand, if not in people, then in himself. The hut cost him a thousand francs; another three hundred francs went into one hundred and fifty liters of absinthe, one hundred liters of rum and two bottles of whisky. A few months later, the Parisian art dealer was supposed to send him another thousand, but so far the remaining money was only enough for soap, tobacco, and handkerchiefs for the natives who visited him. He drank, painted, carved wood, made love and felt that what had possessed him all the last years was disappearing - the man who considered himself the Lord God no longer existed.

Until a few years ago, he despised those around him. He was poor and unrecognized, while the artists who worked in the traditional manner flaunted in expensive costumes and exhibited their work at every Salon. But Gauguin behaved like a prophet, and the youth, looking for idols for themselves, followed him - an almost mystical feeling of strength emanated from him. Noisy, resolute, rude, an excellent swordsman, an excellent boxer, he told those around him right in the face what he thought of them, and at the same time he was not shy in expressions. Art for him was what he himself believed in, he needed to feel like the center of the universe - otherwise the sacrifice that he made to his demon looked meaningless and monstrous. Metta, the straw widow of Paul Gauguin, told a journalist who accidentally happened to be in the same compartment with her - this happened at the beginning of the twentieth century, a few years after her ex-husband was buried in Tahiti.

The correspondent of the "Gazette de France" at first mistook the lady lying at ease on the couch for a gentleman. The stout, blond gentleman, dressed in a traveling man's suit, drank cognac from a small flat flask, smoked a long Havana cigar and shook off the ashes right on the plush sofa. The conductor made a remark to him, the "master" was indignant and asked his random companion to intercede for ... a poor, defenseless woman. They met, got to talking, and at home the novice writer wrote down what he remembered from the monologue of the widow of the mysterious Paul Gauguin, who was beginning to come into fashion.

"Paul was a big child. Yes, a young man, a child - evil, selfish and stubborn. He invented all his strength - maybe the Tahitian whores and foolish students believed him, but he never managed to fool me. Like you do you think why he married me for ... that is, why did he marry me? Do you think he needed a woman? Nonsense - then he did not pay attention to women. Paul Gauguin was looking for a second mother - he needed peace, warmth, protection ... House. I gave him all this, but he left me! Left me with five children, without a single franc ... Yes, I know what they say about me, and I didn’t care about it.

Yes, I sold his art collection and didn't send him a single coin. And forbade the children to write to him. Yes, I did not let him near me when he came to Denmark ... Why are you staring at me like that, young man - I'm just being frank. By God, men are worse than women. And Paul, despite his fists, was also a woman, until the devil inspired him that he was an artist. And he, the accursed egoist, began to dance around his talent. And me - a woman from a good family! - had to feed on lessons. Now the impure one has taught the same thing to all the cretins who are obsessed with painting, and rich fools pay tens of thousands of francs for his daubing ... Damn them all - I don’t have a single painting of his left, I sold everything for pennies! .. "

Mette Gauguin, nee Gad, has always been distinguished by directness, rude humor and some masculinity; in her mature years, she completely began to resemble a dragoon. But Gauguin loved her: in Tahiti, he was waiting for her letters and was terribly worried that the children, who had forgotten both the French language and the half-crazy muff father, did not wish him a happy birthday. Paul Gauguin was a man of duty - he knew that the father is obliged to take care of his offspring, the fact that he abandoned his family did not allow him to sleep peacefully. The former owners offered him to return, he was called to work in an insurance company - an eight-hour working day and a very decent salary. In the end, he could paint like everyone else, sell paintings and live in clover ... But this was absolutely out of the question: Gauguin did not think about tomorrow, but about future biographers.

One hundred and fifty liters of absinthe was enough for a long time. He drank himself, gave water to the natives who came to the fire, drunk, spread himself in a hammock, closed his eyes and peered into the faces floating before him. From the darkness emerged a fiery-red, puny Van Gogh - crazy eyes, a razor clenched in a trembling hand. It was in Arles, on the night of the twenty-second of December, 1888. He awoke in time, and the madman walked away, muttering something incoherent. The next morning, Vincent was found unconscious in a bloody bed, with his ear cut off - a prostitute from a nearby brothel said that at night he burst into her room, put a piece of his bloody flesh in his hands and ran out, shouting: "Take this as a keepsake of me! .."

They lived in the same house, painted together, went to the same whores - Paul was distinguished by bullish health, and he couldn’t care less, and the frail, sickly Van Gogh could not stand such a life. Oddities began when Gauguin announced that he was going to leave for Tahiti - Vincent loved a friend and was afraid to be left alone, a nervous breakdown caused confusion.

His teacher, the gray-bearded Pizarro, sparkled with his eyes - he did not forgive Gauguin's frantic desire for success: "A real artist should be poor and not recognized, he should care about art, and not the opinion of stupid critics. And this man himself appointed himself a genius and turned things around so that we, his friends, have to sing along with him. Paul forced me to help him with the exhibition, forced you to write an article about it ... And what the hell does he follow to Panama, Martinique and Tahiti? A real artist will find nature in Paris "It's not about exotic tinsel, it's about what's in your soul."

Paul was told about this by his best friend, journalist Charles Maurice. The "Australian" set off in the morning, they drank all night, and Gauguin did not explain why Panama and Martinique appeared in his life.

The dark blue canvas of the ocean, the wind singing in the shrouds, the white houses on the shore - he came to Panama, hoping to find new impressions there and work that would give him a piece of bread. But artists and salesmen in Latin America were not required, and Gauguin had to work as a digger - there was no better vacancy. During the day he wielded a shovel, erasing his hands to bloody calluses, and at night he was plagued by mosquitoes. Then he lost this job as well and moved several thousand kilometers from Panama to Martinique: breadfruit was worth nothing there, water could be taken from the source, and the Creoles wore only loincloths. From hell, which Paris turned into for a poor and unrecognized artist, he ended up in an earthly paradise that came to life on his canvases. He brought them to France on a trading brig - there was no money for the return trip, and he had to be hired as a sailor. The exhibition, which he organized upon returning home, failed with a deafening crash - a shocked Englishwoman poked her finger at the picture and angrily squeaked "Red dog!" ("Red dog!"), still stands before his eyes.

For the first time he came to Tahiti to live - he was sick of France. He was happy again: it was easy for him to work, sixteen-year-old Tehura, a girl with an oblong swarthy face and wavy hair, was waiting in the hut - her parents took very little for her. At night, a night light smoldered in the hut - Tehura was afraid of ghosts waiting in the wings; in the morning he brought water from the well, watered the garden and stood up to the easel. Such a life could go on forever, but the paintings left in Paris were not sold, the gallery owners did not send a penny. A year passed, and friends had to rescue him from Tahiti - the poverty from which he fled overtook him here.

The second time Gauguin came here to die: the money should have been enough for a year and a half, in extreme cases arsenic was prepared ... The dose turned out to be too large: he vomited all night, he lay in bed for three days, and having recovered, he felt only cold indifference . He wanted nothing more, not even death.

Many years later, Charles Maurice recalled their farewell party. At the exhibition held the day before, Gauguin sold many works, the Department of Fine Arts got him a thirty percent discount on a ticket to Oceania. Everything was going well, but unexpectedly unbending, rude, not letting anyone into his soul, Gauguin put his head in his hands and burst into tears.

Crying, he said that now, when he had succeeded at least something, he felt even more acutely the full burden of the sacrifice he had made - the children remained in Copenhagen, and he would never see them again. Life has passed, he lived it like a stray dog, and the goal to which everything was dedicated still eludes. The artist should be appreciated not only by a dozen and a half connoisseurs, but also by people from the street; what he did may turn out to be of no use to anyone - and in the name of what then did he sacrifice the children and the woman he loved? ..

In Tahiti, he did not return to this: Gauguin erased Metta from his heart and did not think about his art anymore. He wrote little and felt how his artistic flair, hand and eye were gradually changing - but one hundred and fifty liters of absinthe were coming to an end and the native beauties did not leave Gauguin's hut.

Before leaving France, he caught syphilis: the policeman warned that the girl he picked up at a cheap dance was unwell, but Gauguin waved his hand at it. Now his legs failed, and he walked leaning on two sticks - on the handle of one, the artist carved a giant phallus, the other depicted a couple merged in a love struggle (now both canes are in the New York Museum). The obscene carvings with which Gauguin covered the beams of his hut subsequently migrated to the Boston collection, Japanese pornographic prints that adorned his bedroom went to private collections. The glory of Gauguin began already then, tens of thousands of kilometers from Tahiti, in France. His paintings began to be bought, articles were written about him, but he did not know anything about it and had fun with squabbles with the bishop, the governor and the local gendarmerie sergeant. He urged the natives not to send their children to missionary schools and not to pay taxes - the words "we will pay when Gauguin pays" have become something of a local saying. Gauguin published a newspaper with a circulation of 20 copies (now each is worth its weight in gold), in which he published caricatures of local officials, sued, paid fines, made angry and stupid speeches: real life was over, and now he was deceiving himself - squabbles and quarrels convinced him that it still exists.

He died on the night of May 9, 1903. Enemies said that the artist committed suicide, friends were sure that he was killed: a huge syringe with traces of morphine, lying at the head of the bed, spoke in favor of both versions. Bishop Martin buried the dead man, the gendarme sold his property at auction (the chaste sergeant Sharpillo sent the most obscene drawings to the trash), the colonial authorities buried the unfortunate man and closed the case ...

His paintings, initially estimated at 200 - 250 francs, now cost tens of thousands, and Metta could not find a place for herself - a fortune floated past her hands. Twenty years have passed, they have risen in price hundreds of times more, and then the children of Gauguin, who despised their father all their lives, began to grieve - if not for maternal stupidity, they could live on their own estates and fly on private planes. The father became one of the most expensive artists in the world.

Then came the turn to lament the descendants of the innkeepers, who settled him in the worst closets. Gauguin paid with his canvases, which went to bedding for cats and dogs, to repair house shoes, served instead of rugs - people did not understand the daub of an eccentric ...

Year after year, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren rummage in attics and basements, shake up junk piled up in abandoned barns, in the hope that there, under old collars and harnesses, among rags smelling of mice, piles of gold are hidden - the cherished canvas of an impoverished tramp artist.

Source of information: Jean Perrier, magazine "CARAVAN OF HISTORIES", January 2000.

About Gauguin
Marina 20.12.2006 12:42:48

Just shocked what a human! He certainly wasn't a hypocrite. Passionate Gauguin, suffered so much. There is something in this.

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Introduction
1. Brief biography of Paul Gauguin
2. The history of the creation of the painting "Woman holding a fetus"
3. Analysis of the picture
4. The painting "Woman holding a fruit" in the Hermitage
Conclusion
List of used literature

Introduction

Artists believed that colors should not be mixed on the palette, as has been customary in painting since the time of Zeuxis, but directly in the eye of the viewer of the picture. Mathematically verified, correlated pure colors should be applied to the canvas with dotted strokes (fr. pointiller - write with dots.) However, dotted writing in pointillism is a simple technique. The main thing is the division itself, which, according to P. Signac, must be understood as a complex system of harmony - not only general, but also "spiritual harmony, which the Impressionists did not care about." The divisionists' understanding of harmony is as close as possible to some Eastern spiritual traditions that at that time fascinated many European minds.

At the end of the 1880s. declares itself such a post-impressionist trend as the Pont-Aven school (P. Gauguin, E. Bernard, L. Anquetin, etc.) and its synthetic post-impressionism. Pont-Avens artists urged the painter to follow the "mysterious depths of thought." The main goal of Gauguin's pictorial system of synthetism was the disclosure of the symbols of being through the shape and color of the depicted object. Simplified, generalized forms and lines, rhythmically arranged large color planes, clear contours characterize the painting of this current of impressionism.

This paper discusses the history of the painting by P. Gauguin "Woman holding a fetus", related to the Tahitian period in the artist's work and made in the manner of post-impressionism.

1. Brief biography of Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin is a French painter, graphic artist, sculptor, a representative of post-impressionism, close to symbolism, the creator of the Pont-Aven aesthetic school, as well as the pictorial system of "synthetism". In his youth he served as a sailor, worked as a stockbroker. At the age of 35, he left work and devoted himself entirely to painting. For about 10 years he lived in Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands. Depicting the juicy full-blooded beauty of Oceania with its abundance of flowers and fruits, Gauguin created in his canvases the feeling of a primeval paradise, which is saturated with the sun and inhabited by spiritually whole people living in harmony with nature. He also painted religious and allegorical compositions. He worked in the field of graphics, sculpture, ceramics. He took part in exhibitions of the Impressionists, but did not receive recognition during his lifetime. The works of Gauguin carried many features of the emerging Art Nouveau style and influenced the creative searches of the masters of the Nabis group and painters of the early 20th century.

Paul Eugene Henri Gauguin was born in 1848 in Paris in the family of an editor of one of the capital's newspapers. In 1849, due to the unfavorable political situation, the family went to South America to the relatives of Alina Gauguin, Paul's mother. On the way, Paul's father dies from a ruptured aneurysm. For some time, the widow with two children lives with her uncle in Peru, however, frightened by the impending revolution, the family returns to Orleans, where in 1855 Paul enters a boarding school.

After graduation, Paul is appointed as a navigator's apprentice on a merchant ship, then serves as a sailor for military service. After demobilization, Gauguin works as a stockbroker, painting in his spare time. In 1873, Gauguin married a young governess from Denmark, Mete Sofia Gad, who in the next ten years bore him five children.

Seriously carried away by painting, Paul visits the Colorossi Academy. In 1876, his landscape "Forest in Vilofor" was accepted into the Salon. At the exhibition of the Impressionists in 1881, Gauguin exhibits "Nude Study", which caused a favorable reaction from critics.

In 1883, Paul left work and devoted himself entirely to painting. This leads the artist to a break with his family, poverty and wandering. In 1886 he lives in Pont-Aven, in 1887 - in Panama and the island of Martinique, in 1888 - working in Arles with Van Gogh. During this period, "Cafe in Arles", "Vision after the sermon", "Yellow Christ" were written.

Having become close to the Symbolists, Gauguin, as well as the artists who worked under his influence (the so-called “Pont-Aven school”), came to create a kind of pictorial system - synthetism, using the generalization and simplification of forms and lines. This system was further developed in the paintings painted by Gauguin on the islands of Oceania Perryusho, A. Life of Gauguin. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, M.: Zeus, 2007. - P.89.

The rejection of contemporary society aroused Gauguin's interest in the traditional way of life, in the art of Ancient Greece, the countries of the Ancient East, and primitive cultures.

In 1891, carried away by the dream of an ideal society, the artist travels to Tahiti. Although, in fact, colonial reality turned out to be very far from Gauguin’s utopian dream, nevertheless, in his canvases he creates the feeling of a primeval paradise, which is saturated with the sun and inhabited by spiritually whole people living in unity with nature (“Landscape with Peacocks”, “ Women of Tahiti" ("On the Beach"), "Are you jealous?", "A Woman Holding a Fruit", "Near the Sea"). The artist lives here in poverty and, in order to somehow improve his life, he acquires a wife, a thirteen-year-old Tahitian Tekhura. On a happy honeymoon, Gauguin paints his famous painting The Spirit of the Dead Awakes. At the same time, the "Mysterious Source" was created - a series of paintings based on the ancient Tahitian religion and myths.

In the autumn of 1893, Gauguin returned to Paris and immediately set about organizing an exhibition, but here he was in for a complete failure: the exposition caused general bewilderment and contempt. From inevitable poverty and humiliation, Gauguin was saved by the legacy of his deceased uncle. The artist returned to secular life and began writing a book about the "unspoiled children of nature" ("Noa-Noa" - "Fragrant Island"). During this short period of stay in France, Gauguin painted a series of paintings depicting Breton peasants and landscapes (Landscape in Brittany. Moulin-David, 1894, Orsay, Paris, Breton peasant women, 1894, Orsay, Paris), several portraits.

In September 1895 Gauguin returned to Tahiti. Learning that Tehura is married, he takes a new wife, Pakhura. Gauguin at this time suffers from a number of diseases. During periods of improvement, he paints pictures ("The King's Wife", "Where are we from? Who are we? Where are we going?", "Never again").

In 1897, a message came from Denmark about the death of Alina's daughter. Spiritual and physical suffering pushed the artist to suicide. As a result of a failed suicide, Gauguin was bedridden for a whole year. Having recovered from his illness, he continues to work ("White Horse", "Women by the Sea" ("Motherhood"), "<Две таитянки», «Месяц Марии», 1899, Эрмитаж, СПб).

In 1901, the artist moved to the Marquesas Islands, where he built his last shelter - the "Merry House", the mistress of which was fourteen-year-old Vaejo. In the last years of his life, Gauguin created the paintings “Barbarian Tales”, “And the Gold of Their Bodies”, “Riders on the Shore”, “Girl with a Fan”; hurriedly fills the diary with memories and reflections (“Before and after”).

Gauguin created a number of sculptural works ("Tehura"). He worked in the field of graphics (Three Figures, 1898, National Library, Paris).

2. The history of the creation of the painting "Woman holding a fetus"

Gauguin painter woman post-impressionism

Frontier XIX-XX centuries is a period of new technical discoveries; the emergence of new modes of transport and the acceleration of the rhythm of life; urbanization, industrial progress and the industrial revolution and, in connection with this, the time of rethinking value orientations, increasing anxiety, spiritual dissonance, and expectation of a catastrophe. A person's worldview changes, his life becomes unstable and devoid of harmony, in search of which art helped him at that time.

Back in France, the search for generalized images, the mysterious meaning of phenomena, brought Gauguin closer to symbolism and led him and a group of young artists who worked under his influence to create a kind of pictorial system - synthetism, in which the chiaroscuro modeling of volumes, light-air and linear perspectives are replaced by a rhythmic juxtaposition of individual planes of pure color. , who completely filled the forms of objects and plays a leading role in creating the emotional and psychological structure of the picture. This system was further developed in the paintings painted by Gauguin on the islands of Oceania. Depicting the juicy full-blooded beauty of tropical nature, natural people unspoiled by civilization, the artist sought to realize the utopian dream of an earthly paradise, of human life in harmony with nature.

The work of Paul Gauguin offers its own model of an ideal world, finding harmony, going beyond the limits of a closed existence as one of the "cogs" of society. Different points of view from which Gauguin had the opportunity to know and feel life, allowed him to make a versatile idea of European society Sheveleva, N. The Charm of the Exotic / N. Sheveleva // Art. - 2006. - No. 20. .

Civilization in Gauguin's worldview was the antipode of nature, "anti-nature". In his book Noa Noa, Gauguin wrote: “Civilization is gradually moving away from me ... Yes, the old civilized person is now really destroyed, dead! I was reborn, or rather, a strong and pure man arose in me again! According to Gauguin, in modern times there are two opposite worlds: the gloomy realm of civilization, where a person is lost in his expectation of an impending social catastrophe, and the living element of nature, the source of joy and light Perrusho, A. Gauguin's life. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, M.: Zeus, 2007. - P.166.

Oceanic nature fascinated the artist with its bright colors, but, accustomed to other color combinations, he did not dare to convey on the canvas what he saw with his own eyes for a long time. Gauguin at first observed more, made sketches, sketching the characteristic postures of the Tahitians, their figures and faces. Only a few months later, when the artist finally understood the nature of the Majorians, mastered the new form and new plasticity, he began serious work. Never before had Gauguin experienced such a creative upsurge. He creates one masterpiece after another. During the first year, the artist completed 44 works - portraits, nudes, landscapes, wood carvings, several sculptures. And on the eve of his departure, in the spring of 1893, he already had 66 canvases.

Soon after arriving in Oceania, Gauguin was seized by the desire to paint a close-up figure of a Tahitian woman, Eve of the native paradise. Gauguin creates several works on this topic: "Beautiful land", "Where are you going?" and "Woman Holding a Fruit". The last painting from the Hermitage collection belongs to the main masterpieces of the artist's first stay in Tahiti.

In the image of a woman with a fetus in her hands, researchers recognize the features of Tehamana, the Tahitian wife of Gauguin. The girl's parents willingly gave her for a European, considering him a profitable match. Tehamana was only 13 years old, but, according to Tahitian concepts, she was already ripe for marriage. Even by European standards, she was beautiful: amazingly delicate skin, large expressive eyes, jet-black, waist-length hair. Gauguin was fascinated by her. Devoted, loving and at the same time not very talkative, she not only did not interfere with the artist's work, but helped him in every possible way.

“... I set to work again, and happiness settled in my house ... The gold of Tehamana's face flooded the interior of the dwelling and the entire surrounding landscape with joy and light. How good it was to go together in the morning to cool off in a nearby stream, so in paradise, no doubt, the first man and the first woman did.

Tehamana becomes the heroine of many of Gauguin's works. Depicting her in the painting "Woman Holding a Fruit" more mature, the artist may have wanted to present her as she was supposed to become over time. The swarthy body of the Tahitian woman is rendered intentionally flat. A single continuous line, covering the entire figure, makes it weighty and voluminous. The yellow ornament on the red skirt echoes the pattern formed by the leaves of the trees above the woman's head, and she herself seems to be an integral part of this eternal nature. No matter how fruitful the work in Tahiti was, illness and need forced the artist to return to France. With a heavy heart, he leaves Tehamana and that bright world, which for a short time here opened up to him. He will return to the island in two years - this time forever, to forever merge with the fragrant earth.

3. Analysis of the picture

Portrait as a genre in Gauguin is often combined with the landscape genre, since the combination of one genre of painting with another developed the main theme of Gauguin's art - "the consonance of human life with the animal and plant world in compositions in which the great voice of the earth plays a big role." The heroine of most of the master's paintings is a beautiful, wild and mysterious Tahitian woman. It is through her majestic and flexible image that Gauguin conveys his pantheistic vision of the world. So, in the canvas “Woman Holding a Fruit”, the artist turned a completely ordinary household motif into a sublime aesthetic. In the foreground is a young girl, a Tahitian of the age of a bride, in a bright red pareo, holding carefully, like a child, the fruit of a tropical plant. At some distance from her, against the background of the huts, her friends are sitting, carefully looking at the viewer. The style of this work is much softer and more natural than the previous paintings by the master. The drawing has almost lost its former sharpness, and the line has acquired flexibility and liveliness. Through composition, Gauguin unobtrusively combined planar rhythmic motifs, softening the boundaries of contrasting colors. The coloring of the picture is exquisite; thanks to the variety of warm pink shades, it seems to be covered with a sultry haze.

The silhouette of a woman is outlined with simple and clear contours. The artist admires her calm swarthy face, the natural grace of her posture. The pattern of the skirt resembles the shape of the branches and leaves above the woman's head.

The Hermitage painting has a Tahitian name given to it by Gauguin. It translates to "Where are you going?" The islanders ask this question to those they meet. The answer must be given by the main character of the picture. The fruit in her hands is a gourd used as a vessel for water. If you look closely, you can even distinguish the rope by which the vessel is held. So, the Tahitian woman walks on water. But after all, water among many peoples is a symbol of life, and the pumpkin, among the Chinese, for example, served as a sign of the connection between two worlds, earthly and heavenly. Tehamana, depicted by Gauguin, was pregnant, and this combines the presence of a vessel and water, as well as a Tahitian woman with a baby - the motif of motherhood Paul Gauguin // Art. - 2007. - No. 6. .

Gauguin does not strive for optical fidelity in the transfer of the surrounding world. He writes not so much what he sees as what he wants to see around him. Gauguin's paintings in their flatness, ornamentality and brightness of colors resemble decorative fabrics and, to a certain extent, the art of oriental peoples. In addition, Gauguin aroused great interest in the culture of non-European peoples with his work, and this is his undoubted merit.

Gauguin was struck by the statuary immobility of people in Tahiti, which evoked a feeling of the immutability of being and was in full agreement with the artist's ideas about the primordial world. Therefore, in the paintings of Gauguin, the poses of the Tahitians are always calm, stable, harmonious. A woman holding a fetus can seem to stand for centuries without moving. This gives a special touch to the Tahitian title of the painting "Eu haere ia oe" ("Go!").

Nature as a background is presented in its original form and continuously develops according to the natural laws of the universe. It embodies the ideal natural space, acting as an intermediary between man and the Absolute, in which the deity is present. A person who is able to fully connect with the cosmic rhythm of nature, return to the original state, receives special grace, the ability to transform and transform himself.

The actual historical aspect of the artistic idea of this work lies in the specific model of the island of Tahiti presented as a paradise island, whose inhabitants have already received grace. Tahitian women harmoniously exist within their native nature, from birth integrating into a certain cosmic rhythm of existence.

Discarding the random, the artist seeks to reveal in the canvases that spiritual world, that mood that is contained in the surrounding nature. Art is a generalization that one must be able to extract from nature - this is the main thesis of Gauguin. And he finds forms and images that most fully convey the characteristic in the appearance, manner of behavior of the Tahitians. Hence the frequent repetition in a number of paintings of similar poses, gestures, faces, hence several variants of one composition. It would seem that the plot of Gauguin's paintings is simple, nothing happens in them - people sit, stand, lie. But none is a repetition of nature, although everything is built on real observations.

4. The painting "Woman holding a fruit" in the Hermitage

Room 316 of the Hermitage is entirely dedicated to Gauguin's paintings, painted during his stay in Tahiti. Including there are "The Rite of Spring" (written in Paris) and "Woman holding the fruit." It is believed that the last canvas depicts his Tahitian wife.

Little is known about the appearance in Russia of the Woman Holding the Fruit. In 1908 I.A. Morozov bought it from the famous art dealer Vollard for 8 thousand francs - a very high price for that time.

After the Decree on the nationalization of the Morozov Assembly was signed on December 19, 1918, it became available to the general public. History of Foreign, Russian and Soviet Painting M.: 2006 - P.127. But the collection was not immediately transformed into a museum, there were no staff, and on Sunday mornings, with the help of relatives and servants, the former owner himself showed the collection, giving explanations.

On April 11, 1919, the meeting of I.A. Morozov was turned into the Second Museum of New Western Painting and opened to the public on May 1. In early summer, the former owner of the house on Prechistenka disappeared without a trace. The house on Prechistenka was searched. The seals on the steel pantry and fireproof safes were intact, the paintings and sculptures were also intact. The entire collection (the insurance value of only one hundred of the most valuable French paintings exceeded half a million) remained in its place in complete integrity and safety. The former owner, as it was stated in the protocol of the Moscow Cheka, "with his family was noted as having left in June 1919 for Petrograd."

Deprived of a colossal fortune - a factory, land, a collection turned into the Second Museum of New Western Painting, Ivan Abramovich, under the influence of his wife, decided to move to Switzerland. Two years later, on June 22, 1921, I.A. Morozov died suddenly at the age of fifty in Karlsbad.

In 1928, the collection of S.I. Schukin. And in the GMNZI catalog of 1929, only the initials remained from the names of the former owners: “Sch” and “M”. The collections, united in the State Museum of New Western Art, existed in this building until they were disbanded in 1948, when, at the height of the struggle against cosmopolitanism, the GMNZI was liquidated by a government decree. Doomed to destruction, the collections, by a lucky chance, managed to be saved and they were divided among themselves by the Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin and the State Hermitage.

Morozov's collections were stored in storerooms, since modern French art in the USSR was considered unsuitable for the development of the taste of the Soviet person Matveeva E. Ronshin V. History of painting. In 12 volumes. Volume 10. (section about collectors) St. Petersburg: Labyrinth, 2007. It was only in the mid-1950s that the collections began to regain their well-deserved attention. In particular, the work of Paul Gauguin of the Tahitian period was exhibited in the Hermitage only in 1963.

Conclusion

The work of Paul Gauguin presents a special way out of the crisis of worldview, achieving a certain balance through a radical change in life, turning to the natural order. Other masters of art also offer their own methods of overcoming the instability of the boundary worldview, and the study of art thus also becomes a search for the most correct option for returning to the harmonious existence of a person in an era of global changes in society, which is still relevant at the present time.

The painting "Woman holding a fetus" refers to the Tahitian period of Gauguin's work. It was performed in Polynesia, where the artist was led by a romantic dream of the natural harmony of life. Exotic, full of mystery world, not like Europe. Impressions from the bright colors and lush vegetation of Oceania, from the appearance and life of the Tahitians became a source of inspiration for the painter.

In an ordinary episode from the life of the islanders, the artist sees the embodiment of the eternal rhythm of life, the harmony of man and nature. The Tahitian woman standing in the foreground with a fetus in her hand is the Eve of this native paradise.

Abandoning the rules of traditional painting, and then the impressionistic manner, the master created his own style. The flattening of space, rhythmic repetitions of lines, shapes and color spots, pure colors laid in large arrays create an increased decorative effect.

Gauguin's canvases, in terms of decorative color, flatness and monumentality of composition, generalization of a stylized drawing, carried many features of the Art Nouveau style that developed during this period, influenced the creative searches of the masters of the Nabis group and other painters of the early 20th century. Gauguin also worked in the field of sculpture and graphics.

List of used literature

1. Vasilyeva-Shlyapina G. L. Visual arts. History of Foreign, Russian and Soviet Painting M.: 2006 - 280 p.

2. Matveeva E. Ronshin V. In 12 volumes. Volume 10. (section about collectors) St. Petersburg: Labyrinth, 2007

3. Perrusho, A. Life of Gauguin / Henri Perrusho. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, M.: Zeus, 2007. - 400 p.

4. Paul Gauguin // Art. - 2007. - No. 6.

5. Sheveleva, N. Charm of the exotic / N. Sheveleva // Art. - 2006. - No. 20.

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Eugene Henri Paul Gauguin born June 7, 1848 in Paris. This time fell on the years of the French Revolution. In 1851, after the coup d'état, the family moved to Peru, where the boy was fascinated by the bright, unique beauty of an unfamiliar country. His father, a liberal journalist, died in Panama and the family settled in Lima.

Until the age of seven, Paul lived in Peru with his mother. Children's "contacts" with exotic nature, with bright national costumes were deeply deposited in his memory and affected his constant craving for changing places. After returning to his homeland in 1855, he constantly repeated that he would return to the "lost paradise."

Childhood years spent in Lima and Orleans determined the fate of the artist. After graduating from high school in 1865, Gauguin, as a young man, enters the French merchant fleet and travels the world for six years. In 1870 - 1871, the future artist takes part in the Franco-Prussian War, in battles in the Mediterranean and North Seas.

Returning to Paris in 1871, Gauguin manifests himself as a stockbroker under the guidance of his wealthy guardian Gustave Arosa. At that time, Arosa was an outstanding collector of French paintings, including contemporary Impressionist paintings. It was Arosa who awakened in Gauguin an interest in art and supported it.

Gauguin's earnings were very decent, and in 1873 Paul married the Danish Mette Sophie Gad, who served as a governess in Paris. The house in which the newlyweds settled, Gauguin began to decorate with paintings that he bought, and collecting which he became interested in earnestly. Paul was familiar with many painters, but Camille Pissarro, who believed that “you can give up everything! for the sake of art” is the artist who left the biggest emotional mark on his mind.

Paul began to paint and, of course, tried to sell his creations. Following his example Arosa, Gauguin buys Impressionist canvases. In 1876 he exhibited his own painting at the Salon. The wife considered it childish, and buying paintings was a waste of money.

In January 1882, the French stock market collapsed, and the bank Gauguin burst. Gauguin finally parted with the idea of finding a job, and after painful reflection, in 1883 he made a choice, telling his wife that painting was the only way he could earn a living. Stunned and frightened by the unexpected news, Mette reminded Paul that they have five children, and no one buys his paintings - all in vain! The final break with his wife deprived him of his home. Living from hand to mouth on borrowed money for future fees, Gauguin does not back down. Paul stubbornly seeks his own path in art.

In early paintings Gauguin the first half of the 1880s, executed at the level of impressionistic painting, there is nothing unusual for which it would be worth leaving even an average paid job, circumstances forced him to turn his hobby into a craft that would provide him and his family with a livelihood.

Did Gauguin think of himself as a painter at that time? The Copenhagen "", written in the winter of 1884 - 1885, marks an important turning point in the life of Gauguin and is the starting point for shaping the image of the artist, which he will create throughout his career.

Gauguin recorded an important turning point in his life: a year ago he left his job, forever ending his career as a stockbroker and the existence of a respectable bourgeois, setting himself the task of becoming a great artist.

In June 1886 Gauguin leaves for Pont - Aven, a town on the southern coast of Brittany, where original customs, customs and old costumes are still preserved. Gauguin wrote that Paris is “a desert for the poor. [...] I will go to Panama and live there as a savage. [...] I will take brushes and paints with me and find new strength away from the society of people.”

Not only poverty drove Gauguin away from civilization. An adventurer with a restless soul, he has always sought to find out what lies beyond the horizon. That's why he loved experiments in art so much. He was drawn to exotic cultures while traveling and wanted to immerse himself in them in search of new ways of visual expression.

Here he approaches M. Denis, E. Bernard, C. Laval, P. Serusier and C. Filizhe. Artists enthusiastically studied nature, which seemed to them a mysterious mystical action. Two years later, a group of painters - followers of Gauguin, united around Serusier, will receive the name "Nabis", which in Hebrew means "Prophets". In Pont - Aven, Gauguin paints pictures from the life of peasants, in which he uses simplified contours and strict composition. The new pictorial language of Gauguin caused a lively debate among artists.

In 1887 he traveled to Martinique, which enchanted him with the half-forgotten exoticism of the tropics. But swamp fever forced the artist to return to his homeland, where he worked and completed treatment in Arles. His friend Van Gogh lived there at the same time.

Here he begins to try with a simplified "childish" drawing - without shadows, but with very catchy colors. Gauguin began to resort to a more colorful color, to impose thicker masses, to compose with greater rigor. It was a defining experience that heralded new conquests. The works of this period include the works "" (1887), "" (1887).

Paintings from Martinique were exhibited in Paris in January 1888. Critic Felix Feneon found in the work of Gauguin "acrimony and barbaric character", although it is recognized that "these proud pictures" already give an understanding of the creative nature of the artist. However, no matter how fruitful the Martinique period was, it was not a turning point in Gauguin's work.

A characteristic feature of all types of creativity Paul Gauguin is the desire to go beyond the mentality on the basis of which his "European" art was determined, his desire to enrich the European artistic tradition with new pictorial means, in a different way allowing you to look at the world around him, which pervade all the creative searches of the artist.

In his famous painting "" (1888), the image noticeably deployed on a plane is divided vertically into conditional zones located, as in medieval "primitives" or Japanese kakemono, in front of each other. On a still life, stretched vertically, the image unfolds from top to bottom. The similarity of a medieval scroll was built contrary to the generally accepted methods of building a composition. On a shining white plane - the background - like a palisade, a chain of glasses separates the upper tier from the puppies. This is a kind of single structure of the elements of an old Japanese woodcut by Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi "" and " Still life with bow» Paul Cezanne.

The picture "", a kind of manifestation of the same idea of \u200b\u200bcomparing "distant and different", to prove their relationship, as in " Still life with horse head". But this idea is expressed in a different plastic language - with a complete rejection of any natural illusoryness and plausibility, underlined by large-scale inconsistencies and the same ornamental and decorative interpretation of the material. Here you can see a comparison of "different eras" of pictorial culture - a noticeably coarsened and simplified upper part of the picture, like the early forms of "primitive" art, and the lower part, indicating the final stage of its modern evolution.

Feeling the influence of Japanese engraving, Gauguin abandoned the modeling of forms, making the drawing and coloring more expressive. In his paintings, the artist began to emphasize the planar nature of the pictorial surface, only hinting at spatial relationships and resolutely refusing aerial perspective, building his compositions as a sequence of flat plans.

This resulted in the creation of synthetic symbolism. The new style developed by his contemporary and artist Emile Bernard made a strong impression on Gauguin. perceived Gauguin cloisonism, the basis of which was a system of bright color spots on the canvas, divided into several planes of different colors with sharp and bizarre contour lines, he applied in his compositional painting "" (1888). Space and perspective completely disappeared from the picture, giving way to the color construction of the surface. Gauguin's color became bolder, more decorative and saturated.

In a letter to Van Gogh in 1888, Gauguin wrote that in his painting, both the landscape and Jacob's struggle with the angel live only in the conjectures of those who pray after the sermon. From here arises the contrast between real people and beating figures against the background of the landscape, which are disproportionate and unreal. Undoubtedly, under the struggling Jacob, Gauguin meant himself, constantly fighting with adverse life circumstances. Praying Breton women are witnesses indifferent to his fate - extras. The episode of the struggle is presented as an imaginary, dreamlike scene, which corresponds to the inclinations of Jacob himself, who in a dream presented himself with a staircase with angels.

He created his canvas after the work of Bernard "", but this does not yet mean the influence of the picture on him, since both the general trend of Gauguin's creative evolution and some of his earlier works testify to a new vision and the embodiment of this vision in painting.

Breton women Gauguin do not look holy at all, the characters and types are transferred, quite concretely. But a state of self-absorption awakens in them. White caps with winged trains liken them to angels. The artist refused to transfer volume, from a linear perspective, and builds a composition in a completely different way. Everything is subordinated to one goal - the transmission of a certain thought.

The two titles of the painting refer to two different worlds represented on the canvas. Gauguin demarcated these worlds, compositionally dividing them with a powerful, thick tree trunk, obliquely crossing the entire canvas. Different points of view are introduced: the artist looks at the near figures a little from below, at the landscape - sharply from above. Due to this, the surface of the earth is almost vertical, the horizon is somewhere outside the canvas. No memory of linear perspective remains. There is a kind of "diving", directed from top to bottom "perspective".

In the winter of 1888, Gauguin travels to Arles and works with Van Gogh, who dreamed of creating a brotherhood of artists. The joint work of Gauguin with Van Gogh reached its climax, ending in a spat for both artists. After Van Gogh's attack on the artist, the existential meaning of painting was revealed to Gauguin, which completely destroyed the closed system of cloisonism he had built.

After being forced to flee from Van Gogh to a hotel, Gauguin enjoyed working with real fire in Chaplin's Parisian pottery and created the most poignant dialogue in Vincent Van Gogh's life - a pot with Van Gogh's face and a cut off ear instead of a handle, over which streams of red watering spread. Gauguin portrayed himself as an artist cursed, as a victim of creative torment.

After Arles, where Gauguin, contrary to Van Gogh's wishes, refused to stay, he went from Pont - Aven to Le Pouldu, where his famous canvases with a Breton crucifix appear one after another, and then he looks for himself in Paris, throwing around which ends with a departure to Oceania from - for direct conflict with Europe.

In the village of Le Pouldu, Paul Gauguin painted his painting "" (1889). Gauguin I wanted to experience, according to him, the "wild, primitive quality" of peasant life, the maximum possible in solitude. Gauguin did not copy nature, but used it to draw imaginary images with it.

” is a clear example of his method: both perspective and naturalistic color modulation are rejected, which makes the image look like stained glass windows or Japanese prints that inspired Gauguin throughout his life.

The difference between Gauguin before coming to Arles and Gauguin after it is obvious on the example of the interpretation of the unpretentious and quite clear plot "". "" (1888) is still permeated with the spirit of the epitaph, and the ancient Breton dance, with its emphasized archaism, inept and constrained movements of girls, perfectly fits with absolute immobility at the base of a stylized composition of geometric figures. Little Bretons - these are two small miracles, frozen like two statues on the seashore. Gauguin painted them the very next year, 1889. On the contrary, they amaze with the compositional principle of openness, imbalance, which fills these figurines sculpted from inanimate material with special vitality. Two idols, in the form of small Bretons, blur the line between the real world and the other world, which inhabited the subsequent canvases of Gauguin.

At the beginning of 1889 in Paris in the cafe "Voltaire" during the XX World Exhibition in Brussels, Paul Gauguin shows seventeen of his paintings. The exposition of the works of Gauguin and the artists of his school, called by critics the "Exhibition of Impressionists and Synthetists", was not successful, but gave rise to the term "synthetism", which combined the technique of clausonism and symbolism, developing in the opposite direction to pointillism.

Paul Gauguin was deeply disturbed by the image of a lonely, misunderstood and suffering for his ideals of Christ. In the understanding of the master, his fate is closely related to the fate of a creative person. By Gauguin, the artist is an ascetic, a holy martyr, and creativity is the way of the cross. At the same time, the image of the outcast master is autobiographical for Gauguin, because the artist himself was often not understood: the public - his works, the family - the path he had chosen.

The artist turned to the theme of sacrifice and the Way of the Cross in paintings representing the crucifixion of Christ and his removal from the cross - "" (1889) and "" (1889). The canvas "" depicts a wooden polychrome "Crucifixion" by a medieval master. At its foot, three Breton women bowed and froze in prayer poses.

At the same time, the immobility and majesty of the poses give them a resemblance to monumental stone sculptures, and the wounded figure of the crucified Christ with a face filled with sorrow, on the contrary, looks “alive”. The dominant emotional content of the work can be defined as tragically hopeless.

The painting "" develops the theme of sacrifice. It is based on the iconography of the pieta. On a narrow high pedestal there is a wooden sculptural group with the scene "Lamentation of Christ" - a fragment of an old, green from time to time, medieval monument in Nizon. At the foot is a sad Breton woman, immersed in gloomy thoughts and holding a black sheep in her hand: a symbol of death.

The technique of “revitalizing” the monument and turning a living person into a monument is again used. Strict, frontally standing wooden statues of Myrrh-Bearing Women mourning the Savior, the tragic image of a Breton woman endow the canvas with a truly medieval spirit.

Gauguin performed a number of self-portraits - paintings in which he identified himself with the Messiah. One of these works is "" (1889). In it, the master depicts himself, as it were, in three forms. In the center is a self-portrait, where the artist looks gloomy and depressed. The second time his features are guessed in the grotesque ceramic mask of a savage in the background.

In the third case, Gauguin is captured in the image of the crucified Christ. The work is distinguished by symbolic versatility - the artist creates a complex, multi-valued image of his own personality. He acts simultaneously as a sinner - a savage, an animal principle, and a saint - a savior.

In the self-portrait "" (1889) - one of his most tragic works - Gauguin again compares himself with Christ, engulfed in painful thoughts. A bent figure, a drooping head and helplessly lowered hands express pain and hopelessness. Gauguin elevates himself to the level of the Savior, and presents Christ as a person not without moral torments and doubts.

Looks even more daring "" (1889), where the master presents himself in the form of a "synthetic saint." This is a self-portrait - a caricature, a grotesque mask. However, not everything is so clear in this work. Indeed, for a group of artists who rallied around Gauguin at Le Pouldu, he was a kind of new Messiah, walking along a thorny path to the ideals of genuine art and free creativity. Bitterness and pain are hidden behind a lifeless mask and simulated fun, therefore "" is perceived as an image of a ridiculed artist or saint.

In 1891, Gauguin paints a large symbolic canvas "" and, with the help of friends, prepares his first trip to Tahiti. The successful sale of his paintings in February 1891 allowed him to set off as early as the beginning of April.

On June 9, 1891, Gauguin arrived in Papeete and plunged headlong into the native culture. In Tahiti, for the first time in many years, he felt happy. Over time, he became a champion of the rights of the local population and, accordingly, a troublemaker in the eyes of the colonial authorities. More importantly, he developed a new style called primitivism - flat, pastoral, often overly colorful, simple and spontaneous, completely original.

Now he uses a peculiar turn of bodies, characteristic of Egyptian paintings: a combination of a direct face turn of the shoulders with a turn of the legs in one direction, and the head in the opposite direction, a combination that creates a certain musical rhythm: “ Market"(1892); the graceful poses of Tahitian women, immersed in dreams, move from one color zone to another, the richness of colorful nuances creates the feeling of a dream spilled in nature: "" (1892), "" (1894).

With his life and work, he realized the project of an earthly paradise. In the painting "" (1892), he depicted the Tahitian Eve in the pose of the reliefs of Borobudur temples. Next to her on a tree branch instead of a snake is a fantastic black lizard with red wings. The biblical character appeared in an extravagant pagan guise.

On canvases sparkling with colors, glorifying the charm of amazing harmony with the golden hue of people's skin and the exotic nature of primeval nature, Tekhura's thirteen-year-old life partner, according to local concepts, her wife, is invariably present. Gauguin immortalized her on many canvases, including " Ta matete" (Market), "", "".

The young, fragile figure of Tehura, over which the ghosts of the ancestors hover, inspiring fear in the Tahitians, he painted in the painting "" (1892). The work was based on real events. The artist went to Papeete and stayed there until the evening. Tehura, the young Tahitian wife of Gauguin, was alarmed, suspecting that her husband was again staying with corrupt women. The oil in the lamp ran out, and Tehura lay in darkness.

In the picture, the girl lying on her stomach is written off from the lying Tekhura, and the evil spirit guarding the dead - tupapau, is depicted as a woman sitting in the background. The dark purple background of the picture gives a mysterious atmosphere.

Tekhura was the model for several other paintings. So in the painting "" (1891), she appears in the guise of a Madonna with a baby in her arms, and in the canvas "" (1893), she is depicted in the form of a Tahitian Eve, in whose hands a mango fruit replaced an apple. The elastic line of the artist outlines the strong torso and shoulders of the girl, her eyes raised to the temples, wide wings of the nose and full lips. Tahitian Eve personifies the craving for the "primitive". Her beauty is associated with freedom and closeness to nature, with all the secrets of the primitive world.

In the summer of 1893, Gauguin himself destroyed his happiness. Tehura, saddened, let Paul go to Paris to show his new works and receive his small inheritance. Gauguin began working in a rented workshop. The exhibition, where the artist exhibited his new paintings, failed miserably - the public and critics again did not understand him.

In 1894, Gauguin returned to Pont - Aven, but in a quarrel with sailors he broke his leg, as a result of which he could not work for some time. His young companion, a dancer at the Montmartre cabaret, leaves the artist in Brittany in a hospital bed and flees to Paris, taking the property of the workshop. In order to earn at least a little money to leave, a few friends of Gauguin organize an auction for the sale of his paintings. The sale was unsuccessful. But in this short time, he manages to create a wonderful series of woodcuts in a contrasting manner, which depict the mysterious, fearsome Tahitian rites. In 1895 Gauguin leaves France, now forever, and goes to Tahiti in Punaauia.

But when he returned to Tahiti, no one was waiting for him. The former lover married another, Paul tried to replace her with the thirteen-year-old Pakhura, who bore him two children. Lacking love, he sought consolation with wonderful models.

Depressed by the death of his daughter Aline, who died in France from pneumonia, Gauguin falls into a severe depression. The idea of the meaning of life, human destiny permeates the religious and mystical works of this time, the hallmark of which is the plasticity of classical rhythms. Every month it becomes more and more difficult for an artist to work. Pain in the legs, attacks of fever, dizziness, gradual loss of vision deprive Gauguin of faith in himself, in the success of personal creativity. In complete despair and hopelessness, Gauguin in the late 1890s wrote some of his best works" King's wife», « Motherhood», « Queen of beauty», « Never ever"", "". Placing almost static figures on a flat color background, the artist creates decorative colorful panels, where Maori legends and beliefs are reflected. In them, a beggar and hungry artist embodies his dream of an ideal perfect world.

Queen of beauty. 1896. Watercolor on paper

In late 1897, in Punaauia, about two kilometers from the Tahitian port of Papeete, Gauguin set about creating his largest and most important painting. His purse was almost empty, he was weakened by syphilis and debilitating heart attacks.

A large epic canvas "" can be called a concise philosophical treatise and at the same time a testament of Gauguin. " Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?” - these extremely simple questions, written Paul Gauguin in the corner of his ingenious Tahitian canvas, are in fact the central questions of religion and philosophy.

This is an extremely powerful picture in terms of its impact on the viewer. In allegorical images, Gauguin depicted on it the troubles awaiting a person, and the desire to discover the secrets of the world order, and the thirst for sensual pleasure, and wise calmness, peace, and, of course, the inevitability of the hour of death. The path of each individual person and the path of civilization as a whole sought to embody the famous post-impressionist.

Gauguin knew that his time was running out. He believed that this picture would be his last work. After finishing it, he went to the mountains behind Papeete to commit suicide. He took with him a bottle of arsenic that had been stored in advance, probably not knowing how painful death from this poison was. He expected to get lost in the mountains before taking the poison so that his corpse would not be found, but become food for ants.

However, the poisoning attempt, which brought terrible suffering to the artist, fortunately ended in failure. Gauguin returned to Punaauia. And although his vitality was running out, he decided not to give up. To survive, he took a job as a clerk at the Office of Public Works and Research in Papeete, where he was paid six francs a day.

In 1901, in search of even greater solitude, he moved to the small picturesque island of Khiva - Oa in the distant Marquesas Islands. There he built a hut. On the door wooden beam of the hut Gauguin carved the inscription "Maison de juire" ("House of Delights" or "Resident of Fun") and lived with fourteen-year-old Marie-Rose, while having fun with other exotic beauties.

Gauguin is pleased with his "House of Delights" and his independence. “I would only have two years of health and not too many financial worries that always plague me ...” - the artist wrote.

But Gauguin's modest dream did not want to come true. An indecent lifestyle further undermined his weakened health. Heart attacks continue, vision deteriorates, and there is constant pain in the leg that does not allow sleep. To forget and numb the pain, Gauguin consumes alcohol and morphine and considers returning to France for treatment.

The curtain is ready to fall. Has been haunting in recent months Gauguin chief police gendarme, accusing a negro living in the valley of killing a woman. The artist defends the Negro and resists the accusations, accusing the gendarme of abuse of power. A Tahitian judge issues a three-month sentence for Gauguin for insulting a gendarme and a fine of a thousand francs. You can only appeal the verdict in Papeete, but Gauguin has no money for the trip.

Exhausted by physical suffering, driven to despair by the lack of money, Gauguin cannot concentrate to continue his work. Only two people are close and faithful to him: the Protestant priest Vernier and the neighbor Thioka.

Gauguin's consciousness is increasingly lost. He already finds the right words with difficulty, confuses day with night. Early in the morning, May 8, 1903, Vernier visited the artist. The difficult state of the artist that morning did not last long. After waiting for a friend to feel better, Vernier left, and at eleven o'clock Gauguin died lying on the bed. Eugene Henri Paul Gauguin was buried in the Catholic cemetery of Khiva - Oa. Having died of heart failure, Gauguin's work almost immediately broke out in Europe insane fashion. Painting prices skyrocketed...

Gauguin won his place on the Olympus of art at the cost of his well-being and his life. The artist remained a stranger to his own family, to Parisian society, a stranger to his era.

Gauguin had a heavy, slow, but powerful temperament and colossal energy. It was only thanks to them that he was able, in inhumanly difficult conditions, to wage a fierce struggle with life for life until his death. All his life he spent in incessant hard efforts to survive and preserve himself as a person. He came too late and too early, this was the tragedy of the universal Gauguin genius.

1848-1903: between these figures - the whole life of the largest, great, brilliant painter Paul Gauguin.

"The only way to become God is to do as He does: to create."

Paul Gauguin

in the photo: a fragment of the picture Paul Gauguin"Self-portrait with palette", 1894

Details of life Paul Gauguin formed one of the most unusual biographies in the history of art. His life really gave different people reasons to talk about it, admire, laugh, resent and kneel.

Paul Gauguin: The Early Years

Paul Eugene Henri Gauguin Born in Paris on June 7, 1848 in the family of journalist Clovis Gauguin, a staunch radical. After the defeat of the June uprising, the family Gauguin for security reasons, she was forced to move to relatives in Peru, where Clovis intended to publish his own magazine. But on the way to South America, the journalist died of a heart attack, leaving his wife with two small children. We must pay tribute to the mental stamina of the artist's mother, who alone, without complaints, raised children.

A shining example of courage in a family environment fields was his grandmother Flora Tristan, one of the first socialist and feminist in the country, who published in 1838 the autobiographical book "The Wanderings of a Pariah". From her Paul Gauguin inherited not only external resemblance, but also her character, her temperament, indifference to public opinion and love of travel.

Memories of life with relatives in Peru were so dear Gauguin that he later called himself a "Peruvian savage". At first, nothing foretold him the fate of a great artist. After 6 years of living in Peru, the family returned to France. But the gray provincial life in Orleans and studying at a Parisian boarding school got tired Gauguin, and at the age of 17, against the will of his mother, he entered the service of the French merchant fleet and traveled to Brazil, Chile, Peru, and then off the coast of Denmark and Norway. It was the first, by generally accepted standards, shame, which Paul brought to his family. The mother, who died during his voyage, did not forgive her son and, as a punishment, deprived him of any inheritance. Returning to Paris in 1871, Gauguin with the help of his guardian Gustave Arosa, a friend of his mother, he got a position as a broker in one of the most reputable stock exchange firms in the capital. field was 23 years old and had a brilliant career ahead of him. He started a family quite early and became an exemplary father of a family (he had 5 children).

"Family in the Garden" Paul Gauguin, 1881, oil on canvas, New Carlsberg Glyptothek, Copenhagen

Painting as a hobby

But their stable well-being Gauguin without hesitation, he sacrificed his passion for painting. paint Gauguin started in the 1870s. At first it was a Sunday hobby, and Paul modestly assessed his capabilities, and the family considered his passion for painting a sweet eccentricity. Through Gustave Arosa, who loved art and collected paintings, Paul Gauguin met several impressionists, enthusiastically accepting their ideas.

After participating in 5 exhibitions of the Impressionists, the name Gauguin sounded in artistic circles: the artist was already shining through the Parisian broker. AND Gauguin decided to devote himself entirely to painting, and not to be, in his words, a "Sunday artist". The stock market crisis of 1882, which crippled the financial situation, also contributed to the choice in favor of art. Gauguin. But the financial crisis also affected painting: paintings sold poorly, and family life Gauguin turned into a fight for survival. Moving to Rouen, and later to Copenhagen, where the artist sold canvas products, and his wife gave French lessons, did not save him from poverty, and marriage Gauguin broke up. Gauguin returned to Paris with his youngest son, where he found neither peace of mind nor well-being. To feed his son, the great artist was forced to earn money by posting posters. “I knew real poverty,” wrote Gauguin in "Notebook for Alina", his beloved daughter. - It is true that, despite everything, suffering sharpens the talent. However, it should not be too much, otherwise it will kill you.”

"Flowers and a Japanese book", Paul Gauguin, 1882, oil on wood, New Carlsberg Glyptothek, Copenhagen

Formation of your own style

for painting Gauguin it was a turning point. The artist's school was impressionism, which reached its peak at that time, and the teacher was Camille Pissarro, one of the founders of impressionism. The name of the patriarch of impressionism Camille Pissarro allowed Gauguin take part in five of the eight Impressionist exhibitions between 1874 and 1886.

"Waterhole", Paul Gauguin, 1885, oil on canvas, private collection

In the mid-1880s, the crisis of impressionism began, and Paul Gauguin began to find his way in art. A trip to the picturesque Brittany, which preserved its ancient traditions, marked the beginning of changes in the artist's work: he moved away from impressionism and developed his own style, combining elements of Breton culture with a radically simplified style of writing - Synthetism. This style is characterized by a simplification of the image, transmitted by bright, unusually shining colors, and deliberately excessive decorativeness.

Synthetism appeared and manifested itself around 1888 in the works of other artists of the Pont-Aven school— Émile Bernard, Louis Anquetin, Paul Serusier and others. A feature of the synthetic style was the desire of artists to “synthesize” the visible and imaginary worlds, and often what was created on the canvas was a memory of what they had once seen. As a new trend in art, synthetism gained prominence after an organized Gauguin exhibitions in the Parisian café Volpini in 1889. New ideas Gauguin became the aesthetic concept of the well-known Nabis group, from which a new artistic movement, Art Nouveau, grew.

"Vision after the sermon (Struggle of Jacob with an angel)", Paul Gauguin, 1888, oil on canvas, 74.4 x 93.1 cm, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

The art of ancient peoples as a source of inspiration for European painting

The crisis of Impressionism put the artists who abandoned the blind "imitation of nature" with the need to find new sources of inspiration. The art of the ancient peoples became a truly inexhaustible source of inspiration for European painting and had a strong influence on its development.

Paul Gauguin style

Phrase from a letter Gauguin"You can always find solace in the primitive" testifies to his heightened interest in primitive art. Style Gauguin, harmoniously combining impressionism, symbolism, Japanese graphics and children's illustration, was perfect for depicting "uncivilized" peoples. If the Impressionists, each in their own way, sought to analyze the colorful world, conveying reality without a special psychological and philosophical basis, then Gauguin not only offered virtuoso technique, he reflected in art:

"For me, a great artist is the formula for the greatest mind."

His paintings are metaphors full of harmony with complex meanings, often permeated with pagan mysticism. The figures of people, which he painted from nature, acquired a symbolic, philosophical meaning. With color relationships, the artist conveyed mood, state of mind, thoughts: for example, the pink color of the earth in the paintings is a symbol of joy and abundance.

"Day of the Deity (Mahana no Natua)", Paul Gauguin, 1894, oil on canvas, Art Institute of Chicago, USA

Dreamer by nature Paul Gauguin all his life he was looking for an earthly paradise in order to capture it in his works. Looked for him in Brittany, Martinique, Tahiti, the Marquesas. Three trips to Tahiti (in 1891, 1893 and 1895), where the artist painted a number of his famous works, brought disappointment: the primitiveness of the island was lost. Diseases introduced by Europeans reduced the population of the island from 70 to 7 thousand, and along with the islanders, their rituals, art and local crafts died out. in the picture Gauguin“Girl with a Flower” one can feel the duality of the cultural structure on the island at that time: this is eloquently evidenced by the European dress of the girl.

"Girl with a flower" Paul Gauguin

In their search for a new, unique artistic language Gauguin was not alone: the desire for change in art united dissimilar and original artists ( Seurat, Signac, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard and others), giving birth to a new trend - post-impressionism. Despite the fundamental dissimilarity of styles and handwriting, in the work of the Post-Impressionists, not only ideological unity can be traced, but also commonality in everyday life—as a rule, loneliness and the tragedy of life situations. The public did not understand them, and they did not always understand each other. In reviews of the exhibition of paintings Gauguin brought from Tahiti, one could read:

"To amuse your children, send them to an exhibition Gauguin. They will amuse themselves in front of colored pictures depicting four-armed female creatures sprawled on a billiard table ... ".

After such derogatory criticism Paul Gauguin he did not stay at home and in 1895 again, and for the last time, he left for Tahiti. In 1901, the artist moved to Domenique Island (Marquesas Islands), where he died of a heart attack on May 8, 1903. Paul Gauguin He was buried at the local Catholic cemetery of Domenic Island (Hiva Oa).

"Riders on the Coast" Paul Gauguin, 1902

Even after the death of the artist, the French authorities in Tahiti, who persecuted him during his lifetime, mercilessly cracked down on his artistic heritage. Ignorant officials sold his paintings, sculptures, wooden reliefs under the hammer for pennies. The gendarme conducting the auction broke a carved cane in front of the assembled people. Gauguin, but hid his paintings and, returning to Europe, opened a museum of the artist. Recognition came to Gauguin 3 years after his death, when 227 of his works were exhibited in Paris. The French press, which maliciously ridiculed the artist during his lifetime about each of his few exhibitions, began to print laudatory odes to his art. Articles, books and memoirs were written about him.

"When is the wedding?", Paul Gauguin, 1892, oil on canvas, Basel, Switzerland (until 2015)

Once in a letter to Paul Serusier Gauguin Desperately suggested: “... my paintings scare me. The public will never accept them." However, the pictures Gauguin the public accepts and buys for big money. For example, in 2015, an unnamed buyer from Qatar (according to the IMF—the richest country in the world since 2010) bought a painting Gauguin"When is the wedding?", for 300 million dollars. Painting Gauguin received the honorary status of the most expensive painting in the world.

To be fair, it should be noted that Gauguin did not care at all about the lack of public interest in his work. He was convinced: “Everyone should follow their passion. I know that people will understand me less and less. But can it really matter?" Entire life Paul Gauguin was a fight against philistinism and prejudice. He always lost, but thanks to his obsession, he never gave up. The love of art, which lived in his indomitable heart, became a guiding star for the artists who followed in his footsteps.

Paul Gauguin can be reproached for many things - betrayal of the official wife, irresponsible attitude towards children, cohabitation with minors, blasphemy, extreme selfishness.

But what does this mean in comparison with the greatest talent that fate has awarded him?

Gauguin is all about contradiction, unresolvable conflict and life, like an adventure drama. And Gauguin is a whole layer of world art and hundreds of paintings. And a completely new aesthetic that still surprises and delights.

Life is ordinary

Paul Gauguin was born on June 7, 1848 into a very distinguished family. The mother of the future artist was the daughter of a famous writer. Father is a political journalist.

At 23, Gauguin finds a good job. He becomes a successful stockbroker. But in the evenings and on weekends he paints.

At 25, he marries Dutch Mette Sophie Gad. But their union is not a story about great love and the place of honor of the muse of the great master. For Gauguin felt sincere love only for art. Which the wife did not share.

If Gauguin portrayed his wife, it was rare and rather specific. For example, against the background of a gray-brown wall, turned away from the viewer.

Paul Gauguin. Mette is sleeping on the couch. 1875 Private collection. The-athenaeum.com

However, the spouses will give birth to five children, and, perhaps, apart from them, nothing will connect them soon. Mette considered her husband's painting classes a waste of time. She married a wealthy broker. And I wanted to lead a comfortable life.

Therefore, the decision once made by her husband to quit his job and engage only in painting for Mette was a severe blow. Their union, of course, will not stand such a test.

The Beginning of Art

The first 10 years of the marriage of Paul and Mette passed quietly and safely. Gauguin was only an amateur in painting. And he painted only in his free time from the stock exchange.

Most of all, Gauguin was seduced. Here is one of Gauguin's works, painted with typical Impressionist light reflections and a pretty corner of the countryside.

Paul Gauguin. Aviary. 1884 Private collection. The-athenaeum.com

Gauguin actively communicates with such outstanding painters of his time as Cezanne,.

Their influence is felt in the early works of Gauguin. For example, in the painting “Suzanne Sewing”.

Paul Gauguin. Suzanne sewing. 1880 New Carlsberg Glyptothek, Copenhagen, Denmark. The-athenaeum.com

The girl is busy with her work, and we seem to be spying on her. Quite in the spirit of Degas.

Gauguin does not seek to embellish it. She hunched over, which made her posture and stomach unattractive. The skin is “ruthlessly” conveyed not only in beige and pink, but also in blue and green. And this is quite in the spirit of Cezanne.

And some serenity and peace are clearly taken from Pissarro.

1883, when Gauguin turns 35, becomes a turning point in his biography. He left his job at the stock exchange, confident that he would quickly become famous as a painter.

But the hopes were not justified. The accumulated money quickly ran out. Wife Mette, not wanting to live in poverty, leaves for her parents, taking the children. This meant the collapse of their family union.

Gauguin in Brittany

Summer 1886 Gauguin spends in Brittany in northern France.

It was here that Gauguin developed his own individual style. Which will change little. And by which he is so recognizable.

The simplicity of the drawing, bordering on the caricature. Large areas of the same color. Bright colors, especially a lot of yellow, blue, red. Unrealistic color schemes, when the earth could be red and the trees blue. And also mystery and mysticism.

We see all this in one of the main masterpieces of Gauguin of the Breton period - "Vision after the sermon or Jacob's struggle with the Angel."

Paul Gauguin. Vision after the sermon (Struggle of Jacob with the Angel). 1888 National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

The real meets the fantastic. Breton women in characteristic white caps see a scene from the Book of Genesis. How Jacob wrestles with an angel.

Someone is watching (including a cow), someone is praying. And all this against the backdrop of red earth. As if it is happening in the tropics, oversaturated with bright colors. One day Gauguin will leave for the real tropics. Is it because its colors are more appropriate there?

Another masterpiece was created in Brittany - "Yellow Christ". It is this picture that is the background to his self-portrait (at the beginning of the article).

Paul Gauguin. Yellow Christ. 1889 Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. Muzei-Mira.com

Already from these paintings, created in Brittany, one can see a significant difference between Gauguin and the Impressionists. Impressionists depicted their visual sensations without introducing any hidden meaning.

But for Gauguin, allegory was important. No wonder he is considered the founder of symbolism in painting.

See how calm and even indifferent the Bretons sitting around the crucified Christ. So Gauguin shows that the sacrifice of Christ has long been forgotten. And religion for many has become just a set of obligatory rituals.

Why did the artist depict himself against the background of his own painting with the yellow Christ? For this, many believers did not like him. Considering such “gestures” as blasphemy. Gauguin considered himself a victim of the tastes of the public, which does not accept his work. Frankly comparing their suffering with the martyrdom of Christ.

And the public really had a hard time understanding him. In Brittany, the mayor of a small town commissioned a portrait of his wife. This is how “Beautiful Angela” was born.

Paul Gauguin. Wonderful Angela. 1889 Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Vangogen.ru

The real Angela was shocked. She could not even imagine that she would be so “beautiful”. Narrow piggy eyes. Swollen nose. Huge bony hands.

And next to it is an exotic figurine. Which the girl regarded as a parody of her husband. After all, he was shorter than her height. It is surprising that the customers did not tear the canvas to pieces in a fit of anger.

Gauguin in Arles

It is clear that the case with the “Beautiful Angela” did not add customers to Gauguin. Poverty forces him to agree to the proposal about working together. He went to see him in Arles, south of France. Hoping that life together will be easier.

Here they write the same people, the same places. Like, for example, Madame Gidoux, the owner of a local cafe. Although the style is different. I think you can easily guess (if you have not seen these paintings before) where Gauguin's hand is, and where is Van Gogh's.

Information about the paintings at the end of the article *

But the imperious, self-confident Paul and the nervous, quick-tempered Vincent could not get along under the same roof. And once, in the heat of a quarrel, Van Gogh almost killed Gauguin.

The friendship was over. And Van Gogh, tormented by remorse, cut off his earlobe.

Gauguin in the tropics

In the early 1890s, the artist was seized by a new idea - to organize a workshop in the tropics. He decided to settle in Tahiti.

Life on the islands was not as rosy as it seemed to Gauguin at first. The natives accepted him coldly, and there was little “untouched culture” left - the colonists had long brought civilization to these wild places.

Locals rarely agreed to pose for Gauguin. And if they came to his hut, they preened themselves in a European way.

Paul Gauguin. Woman with a flower. 1891 New Carlsberg Glyptothek, Copenhagen, Denmark. Wikiart.org

Throughout his life in French Polynesia, Gauguin would seek a "pure" native culture, settling as far as possible from the towns and villages equipped by the French.

outlandish art

Undoubtedly, Gauguin opened a new aesthetics in painting for Europeans. With each ship, he sent his paintings to the "mainland".

Canvases depicting naked dark-skinned beauties in a primitive entourage aroused great interest among the European audience.

Paul Gauguin. Are you jealous? 1892, Moscow

Gauguin scrupulously studied the local culture, rituals, mythology. So, in the painting “Loss of Virginity”, Gauguin allegorically illustrates the pre-wedding custom of the Tahitians.

Paul Gauguin. Loss of virginity. 1891 Chrysler Art Museum, Norfolk, USA. Wikiart.org

The bride on the eve of the wedding was stolen by the groom's friends. They "helped" him make the girl a woman. That is, in fact, the first wedding night belonged to them.

True, this custom had already been eradicated by the missionaries by the time Gauguin arrived. The artist learned about him from the stories of local residents.

Gauguin also liked to philosophize. This is how his famous painting “Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?".

Paul Gauguin. Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? 1897 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA. Vangogen.ru

Gauguin's private life in the tropics

There are many legends about Gauguin's personal life on the island.

They say that the artist was very promiscuous in his relations with the local mulattos. He suffered from numerous venereal diseases. But history has preserved the name of some beloved ones.

The most famous attachment was 13-year-old Tehura. A young girl can be seen in the painting “The Spirit of the Dead Does Not Sleep”.

Paul Gauguin. The spirit of the dead does not sleep. 1892 Albright-Knox Gallery of Art, Buffalo, New York. wikipedia.org

Gauguin left her pregnant, leaving for France. From this connection, the boy Emil was born. He was brought up by a local man whom Tehura married. It is known that Emil lived to be 80 years old and died in poverty.

Recognition immediately after death

Gauguin never had time to enjoy success.

Numerous illnesses, difficult relationships with missionaries, lack of money - all this undermined the strength of the painter. On May 8, 1903, Gauguin died.

Here is one of his latest paintings, The Spell. In which the mixture of native and colonial is especially noticeable. The spell and the cross. Nude and dressed in blind clothes.

And a thin coat of paint. Gauguin had to save money. If you have seen the work of Gauguin live, then you probably paid attention to this.

As a mockery of the poor painter, events develop after his death. Dealer Vollard organizes a grandiose exhibition of Gauguin. Salon** dedicates a whole room to him...

But Gauguin is not destined to bathe in this grandiose glory. He did not live up to her just a little bit ...

However, the painter's art turned out to be immortal - his paintings still amaze with their stubborn lines, exotic coloring and unique style.

Paul Gauguin. 2015 Artist's collection

There are many works by Gauguin in Russia. All thanks to pre-revolutionary collectors Ivan Morozov and Sergei Shchukin. They brought home a lot of paintings by the master.

One of Gauguin's main masterpieces, "The Girl Holding the Fruit" is kept in St. Petersburg.

Paul Gauguin. A woman holding a fetus. 1893 State Hermitage, St. Petersburg. Artchive.ru