Gauguin: The Full Story

Two hours ago, I knew little about Gauguin, except that he represented the primitive, which I could respect (rather than enjoy) as a genre, though the beach-girls he portrayed in that deliberately crude style held little appeal for me. My interest lay in what he personally symbolised - the young man well-placed in a formal profession in one of the grand capitals of Europe, who suddenly decides to throw it all up in favour of the south sea island life. "To escape European civilization and everything that is artificial and conventional", as he put it. In other words, doing what thousands like him today are longing to do, but never quite dare. (His courage would always be acknowledged, even by his enemies.)

He was, however, unlucky in his timing. Gauguin's Polynesian idyll was starting to come under threat, largely from the catholic priesthood, who thought it was time to rid the locals of their folklorish superstitions. As for the pedophile issue, which commentator Waldemar Januszczak mentions at the outset, the locals still think fourteen-year-old girls are ripe and ready for motherhood, and perhaps we can be too quick to judge according to our own norms.

It was his relations with adult European women that never seemed harmonious. Seven years at sea had clearly cheapened his view of the opposite sex, and he was still paying his way for years after. (Even living in poverty with Van Gogh, they put aside a weekly budget for a visit to the local bordello.) His wife had thought she was marrying into stockbroker society, and found no satisfaction in being the wife of an artist, even when his work was selling. Like many who trumpet their sexual conquests, he seemed to harbour some nagging problems in his emotional life, and we are not too surprised when we hear that his last years were plagued by advanced syphilis, along with running sores on his leg that looked like leprosy, causing people to shy away from him in horror.

An early critic had presciently called his work "artificially exotic", and more recent research has shown his depiction of Tahitian mythology to be largely his own invention, with all manner of styles from other cultures bolted on for effect. Perhaps it is better to ignore the reality of Gauguin and just go for the legend, as the rest of the world still does when these images of simple islanders soar past the million mark at auction. It sounds as though some people at least may be relishing the south sea life more than he did.

Well I love all ZCZ films on classical artists, so it's no surprise I found this one so fulfilling. I don't like Gaugin per se, don't really like his work, however what he did and how he lived is well worth knowing about. To me, there's no topping the processing of facts and resulting output that Waldemar gives us. I've watched about half of his other films so far. I recommend them all, and recommend this one! Such an intriguing era, and Gaugin himself was more interesting and sympathetic than I thought. God save us from syphilis, what a brutal killer! (spoiler alert)

This movie is lush with Gauguin's masterpieces, which are shown in context of his fascinating life story giving us background and insight into his inspired, colorful body of work.

Narrated by Waldemar Januszczak, (an English art critic, arts editor of The Guardian and The Sunday Times, and television documentary), the film immediately drew me in with rich drumming music as the host stood on a beach the artist spent time at and asked: "What's to like about this man, you might think? Well, first off, there's the art, which needs no defense. I reckon Gauguin painted some of the world's most alluring women, but what I really like about him is that he did it for really big and noble reasons and he put them into several of the world's most gorgeous pictures. There's always more to a Gauguin than meets the eye. This is the first film that follows in Gaugin's footsteps."

The film indeed follows Gauguin to each location he lived. He arrived in Peru as an 18 month-old with an older sister, Marie, and a newly widowed mother, Aline. There, he was raised in privilege in the home of relatives who held political power. Gauguin's childhood was both wonderful and traumatic. After his Peruvian relatives were ousted from power, his mother moved her family back to Paris.

After school and a seven year stint in the navy traveling the world, Paul Gauguin married Matte, a tough, hard-partying Danish woman, when he was a successful stockbroker. He maintained this position for eleven years. After the 1882 stock market crash, he lost his income and devoted himself full tilt to painting full-time.

Gauguin did not desert his wife and five children, as is common lore. Matte, who enjoyed the comfortable life as a partner to a well off businessman, left him in 1885. She had no idea art would possess him as it did; nor did he. He was a passionate painter, sculptor, and potter with a penchant for yellow walls and flamboyant dress. He became a leader in the Symbolist school and painted with a proclivity for Primitivism.

Gauguin was comrades with numerous brilliant painters, among them, Pissarro, Cezanne, and Van Gogh. His relationships with them are covered in the narrative that travels from Peru to Paris, Pont-Avon, Tahiti, French Polynesia, the Marquesas Islands, and more.

His life was filled with drama, intrigue, and tragedy including the death of his beloved favorite child, Aline, which led to a suicide attempt. He was a bold, adventurous spirit with a desire to be live freely away from the bog of modern day civilization. He built and designed for himself spectacular living spaces, hedonistically pursued underage Vahines (women who were his lovers and muses) on the islands, and had a regal rendezvous with debauchery.

I enjoyed the film immensely but needed breaks from it, so I watched the nearly two hour movie in blocks of thirty minutes at a time. It struck me as a comprehensive rendering of Gauguin's life. The host, Januszczak did such a thorough job, I'm interested in seeing more of his work now.

I recommend this as a must-see for lovers of Gauguin's artwork.