Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) was not cut out for finance. Nor did he
last particularly long in the French Navy, or as a tarpaulin
salesman in Copenhagen who did not speak Danish. He began painting
in his spare time in 1873 and in 1876 took part in the Paris Salon.
Three years later, he was exhibiting alongside Pissarro, Degas, and
Monet. A querulous, hard-drinking individual, Gauguin often called
himself a savage. His close but fraught friendship with the
similarly temperamental Vincent van Gogh climaxed in a violent
incident in 1888, when van Gogh purportedly confronted Gauguin with
a razor blade, and later cut off his own ear. Shortly afterwards,
following the completion of a midcareer masterpiece Vision After
the Sermon (1888), Gauguin took himself to Tahiti, with the
intention of escaping "everything that is artificial and
conventional..." On Tahiti, Gauguin's unfettered joy in the
island's nature, native people, and figurative images soared,
spurring a prolific output of paintings and prints. In works such
as Woman with a Flower (Vahine no te Tiare, 1891) and Sacred
Spring: Sweet Dreams (Nave Nave Moe, 1894), he developed a
distinct, Primitivist style that positively oozed with sunshine and
color. In the tradition of exotic sensuality, his thick, buttery
lashings of paint lingered in particular over the curves of
Tahitian women. Gauguin died alone, on Tahiti's neighboring
Marquesas Islands, with many of his personal papers and belongings
dispersed in a local auction. It was not until a smart art dealer
began curating and showing Gauguin's work in Paris that the
artist's profound influence began making itself felt, especially to
the new breed of French avant-garde artists, such as Picasso and
Matisse.This book offers the essential introduction the artist's
truly colorful life, from the Impressionist salons of 1870s Paris
to his final days in the Pacific, productive and passionate to the
end. About the series Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has
evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published.
Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features: a detailed
chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist,
covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise
biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
