Paul Gauguin's Early Life, Art, and Friendship with Van Gogh

Early Life and Artistic Beginnings

• 👨‍🎨 Paul Gauguin began his journey as a stockbroker, achieving significant financial success before dedicating himself to art.
• 🎨 Introduced to art by collector Gustav Arosa, Gauguin married Mette Gad and initially balanced his burgeoning artistic pursuits with family life.
• 🖼️ He started painting at 25, self-taught by copying Impressionist masters like Monet and Degas, and later took lessons from Pissarro.

Artistic Development and Challenges

• 🖌️ Gauguin's early Impressionist works, though exhibited alongside his heroes, showed struggles with perspective and often appeared "clotted" and overworked.
• 💔 The Paris stock market crash of 1882 led to Gauguin losing his fortune, forcing his wife and children to return to Denmark.
• 🇩🇰 His attempt to sell tarpaulins in Denmark was a disaster, and he faced criticism from Mette's family, who called him the "missing link."
• 🇫🇷 Returning to France, Gauguin experienced extreme poverty, pasting posters and selling his cherished Impressionist collection to survive and continue painting.

Gauguin and Mette's Relationship

• 🤝 Gauguin met Mette, a Danish woman, and they married within a year, sharing a deep connection and enjoying a fulfilling personal life.
• 🎨 While Gauguin created art of his family, including a sculpture of Mette and paintings of his children, Mette found posing difficult.
• 💰 Financial strain was a constant issue, exacerbated by the stock market crash and Gauguin's inability to sell his art, leading to Mette selling some of his collection, which upset him.
• 🚫 Despite their separation and her family's wishes, Gauguin and Mette never divorced, adhering to their belief in lifelong marriage.

The Arles Period and Van Gogh

• 💡 Theo van Gogh, an art dealer, became Gauguin's agent, a turning point that led to a significant relationship with his brother, Vincent van Gogh.
• 🤝 Vincent, inspired by Gauguin's work, invited him to live and paint together in the "Yellow House" in Arles, offering financial support.
• 🎨 During their nine weeks together in 1888, they explored Post-Impressionism, influenced by Japanese art and moving away from realism towards emotional expression.
• 🔪 The intense collaboration culminated in a crisis where Vincent, after a heated argument and pursuing Gauguin with a razor, famously cut off his own ear.
• 💔 Gauguin left Arles immediately after the incident, and Vincent was subsequently institutionalized, though he continued to write to Gauguin, expressing no blame and a desire to paint together again.

Legacy and Later Life

• 🌸 Ten years later, while in Tahiti, Gauguin planted sunflower seeds from Paris, painting them in memory of his "gentle friend Vincent."
• 🏝️ Gauguin's journey continued to Tahiti, where he sought new artistic inspiration, marking a new phase in his career.