Paul Gauguin

Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) abandoned civilization for the South Pacific, seeking what he called "primitive" purity and spiritual intensity. His striking images of Polynesian women, painted in bold flat colors with symbolic meaning, influenced everything from Fauvism to Abstract Expressionism. Gauguin pioneered Synthetism, using areas of pure color for expressive purposes rather than naturalistic representation. His masterpiece Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? encapsulates his philosophical and artistic vision.

Gauguin worked as a Parisian stockbroker before abandoning his family to pursue art. He studied under Pissarro and exhibited with the Impressionists, but broke from them in Brittany where he developed his distinctive style. His nine-week stay with Van Gogh in Arles (1888) ended dramatically. Gauguin first traveled to Tahiti in 1891, disappointed to find French colonialism had transformed his imagined paradise. He returned in 1895, remaining in the Pacific until his death. His work was unappreciated until after death; dealer Ambroise Vollard promoted him posthumously. The Musee d'Orsay, Museum of Modern Art, and Hermitage hold major collections.