2 comments about Paul Gauguin: An Erotic Life.

1. It is unfortunate when an author approaches his or her subject with such a predetermined perspective that the author's opinions and report of facts becomes suspect. This is clearly the case with Nancy Mathews approach to Paul Gauguin.

   She starts with the assumption that he is an abusive and violent man, and selectively views his life to support this distorted view.

   Some examples: At p. 66 that author states: "It is not known whether Gauguin beat his children." What an outrageous statement for a purportedly objective biographer to make! It is like the proverbial qustion "When did you stop beating your wife?"

   On page 62 as an example of Gauguin's "cruelty" to women is cited the fact that when Gauguin engaged in the Danish custom of men and women bathing nude at the beach he actually looked at a pretty, nude woman.

   Also on page 62 the author states that when Gauguin left Denmark and returned to Paris, "Out of spite he took one of the children ..Clovis". The author offers not a sintilla of evidence to back up her statement that this action was spitefully motivated, rather than a natural paternal desire to have one of his sons with him.

   Whatever merits the book may otherwise have, this obvious bias of the author makes the entire book suspect.




2. This book, in its calm, even-handed way, manages to make Paul Gauguin come to life for the first time. Rather than rehash the myths about this man (which, Mathews demonstrates, were started by Gauguin himself), the author goes directly to the primary sources to trace his life and understand his character. It turns out that he did beat his wife and leave her and their five children without financial support. And he treated most of his friends and colleagues with equal heartlessness. But the story does not end there. It goes on to show how even out of such a flawed character great art could arise. This book teaches much about the unpredictability of creative talent.

3 comments about Gauguin's Intimate Journals.

1. This is a 'journal'. It's not a diary, nothing so organized, and he claims repeatedly that "This is not a book." Instead, it's a sequence of slightly connected thoughts, anecdotes, and aphorisms. Give the book time, though, it develops into something much more revealing in its second half.
   
   Gauguin is known for his abrupt departure from respected commercial and family life into the most primitive world available to him. His son prefaces this book by explaining that the parting of ways was necessary and mutual. This book itself presents a few hints at what drove him out of polite and wealthy society - a distaste for the venal gendarmerie, a contempt for the church, and more.
   
   What I found more interesting, though, was his recollections of rooming with Van Gogh and his first-person narrative of the Impressionist revolution in France. He sweetens any bitterness by describing the Tahitian people, as a society, as a system of mores, and as healthy and beautiful human animals.
   
   There's a slight self-conciousness here. Gauguin seemed to be writing for some imagined reader, and in fact sent these journals to be published. I feel that not nearly enough is said; what's written here does little to describe the personal angel or demon that drove him to the farthest point on the planet. Still, I value the master's words.
   
   I admit that I'm not fond of his art. Still, I acknowledge the place that history has given him, and I feel somewhat more of a person for reading what he chose to write.
   
   //wiredweird



2. It is impossible to read and re-read GAUGUIN'S INTIMATE JOURNALS and not be inspired to jump into the thrills of creativity and rebellion that sparks greatness in artists. Paul Gauguin's life has been well captured in films, in poems, in numerous biographies, in essays - but none of these supply what these extraordinary journals offer: here is the motivation for the fauvist mind and career and art movement Gauguin sprouted.
   
   In these beautifully translated journal entries we learn why Gauguin, a self-taught artist, son of financially secure parents, a businessman able to succeed in the financial world of his era, would leave all of that to first paint in France with the likes of his roommate Vincent Van Gogh and ultimately flee to the Pacific Islands where his unusual and avant-garde painting style set all of the art world into motion to change.
   
   Beginning with the preface by his son Emil Gauguin, these journals are accompanied by full page, full color reproductions of some of this finest paintings, works which take on new life when informed by the accompanying words of the artist. This is a splendid book well worth adding to the art library of everyone. Grady Harp, October 05



3. Gauguin wasn't Picasso or Munch. Picasso thought his diary would someday make him even more famous as an important writer who also dabbled in the visual arts. Edvard Munch thought that his poetry-prose journals were as good as his paintings--even the title of his journals "We Are Flames Which Pour Out of the Earth" gives his readers a clue to the seriousness of his private journals. Gauguin didn't consider himself a great writer. He didn't feel that the words he was scribbling were all that important. He said "I should like to write as I paint my pictures,--that is to say, following my fancy, following the moon, and finding the title long afterwards." Gauguin was true to that desire.
   Also unlike the poetry of Picasso and Munch, a reader doesn't have to carefully parse obscure poetic verses to maybe gain an insight into the mind of the artists. In Picasso's case he loved to write in different languages and in different styles and riddles and often in a stream of consciousness manner. As with his art, he couldn't resist toying with his audience. Gauguin wrote straightforward descriptions of people, places and things that fascinated him. One of the best parts of this book is Gauguin's eyewitness account of Vincent Van Gogh, his housemate's strange behavior. One evening Vincent ran toward him on the street with an open razor in his hand, but stopped suddenly in front of him, bowed and then turned and went home alone. Once there, he cut off his ear, taped up the wound enough to allow him to go out into the streets wearing a Basque Beret pulled down to conceal the missing ear. Van Gogh went straight to a local house of ill repute "and gave the manager his ear, carefully washed and placed in an envelope. `Here is a souvenir of me,' he said. Then he ran off home, where he went to bed and to sleep." The next morning the local police accused Gauguin of murdering his housemate, until Gauguin, who fearing for his own life, had spent the night in a hotel checked the undisturbed body in the blood-soaked bed and discovered his friend to still be alive. The hapless police then called an ambulance, but didn't apologize for their incompetent bungling.
   Gauguin hated government bureaucrats and felt they, along with the French clergy were exploiting and destroying the pure culture of the South Seas and anywhere else France controlled.
   This is fascinating, easy-to-read, meandering and very natural journal-diary. It provides lots of fresh and politically incorrect views of Gauguin's world in a very pithy style.

4 comments about El Paraíso en la otra esquina.

1. Es increible como Vargas Llosa te lleva atraves del espacio y el tiempo saltando de parrafo en parrafo y el lector no se pierde nunca! Flora esta en Paris reunida con obreros y un instante despues (10 anhos antes) en Arequipa visitando a su tio Pio, Gauguin esta Tahiti, 50 anhos despues, y en la linea siguiente esta (otros 10 anhos antes)pintando con van Gogh en Arles, y lector ve pasar todo esto frente a si sin confundir una sola idea. El manejo de los tiempos es similar a Pulp Fiction, donde Tarantino te va ofreciendo escenas de la historia en desorden, pero nunca te pierdes.

   Adicionalmente, el tema de las historias, el humor, y lo crudo de algunas escenas (tipo el capitulo final de "La fiesta del Chivo") hacen que este libro asuste y encante. En este libro el capitulo final es tambien fenomenal.




2. This may be the crowning achievement of one of the foremost authors in the Spanish language. Alternating between the impressionist Gauguin and his maternal grandmother, Flora Tristan, the author traces the careers of these legendary 19th century figures. For Gauguin, the paradise was to be found in escaping the constraints of Euro-Christian civilization by fleeing further and further into the primative cultures of the South Seas. His grandmother too chaffed and strained under the constraints of French and Peruvian societies. The former would relegate her to the status of chattel to her husband, the latter offered her refuge as a virtual princess among her father's family who were as near to Peruvean royalty as was possible. Rejecting both, she chose instead to campaign for the liberation women, then the working classes through social political reform. Both characters died struggling, neither achieving the acceptance of their contemporaries; each sanguine in the choices s/he had made.

   The writing is brilliant, the story riveting. The work is clearly superior to "La Fiesta del Chivo" that the "New York Times" predicted would gain Vargas a Nobel Prize for Literature.




3. Este libro ha sido una gran desilusion. Es dificil relacionarse con los personajes y con sus ambiciones en la vida. Uno siente que nunca los llega a conocer ni a enteder de verdad. A consecuencia de eso, es muy dificil comprender sus actos. El libro carece de profundidad y entrelaza la narracion de las dos vidas (la de Flora y Gaugin) muy superfluamente. Es monotono y sin impacto. EL lector espera que el libro cobre impacto, pero ese momento nunca llega. Me fue muy dificil encontrar la disciplina para terminarlo. Vargas Llosa es uno de los mejores escritores de nuestros tiempos, y despues de haber leido la gran mayoria de sus obras, este libro ha sido una gran desilusion.



4. No debe ser fácil ser Vargas Llosa, mal acostumbrando a sus lectores a escribir excelentes novelas, de esas que cada vez que las cerramos nos decimos: "He aquí al mejor escritor de nuestra era"; no, no debe ser fácil porque cuando escribe un libro tedioso como El Paraíso en la otra esquina, la desilución del libro que pudo haber sido y no fue es demasiado grande, quizás porque las expectativas de sus lectores así lo son.
   El Paraíso en la otra esquina trata dos historias alternas: la de Paul Gauguin, el pintor que renunció a una cómoda vida burguesa europea para irse a pintar nativas al Pacífico, y la de su abuela Floria Tristán, incorruptible mujer de grandes ideales. Sólo de leer la contraportada se nos hace agua la boca, qué puede fallar en una novela con unos personajes tan apasionantes en la pluma del autor de La Fiesta del Chivo y Lituma en los Andes, para no irnos más atrás a sus obras maestras de juventud; cómo no devorar palabra por palabra lo que debería ser un festín literario... y nos encontramos con una obra plana, repetitiva, tediosa y desigual. Después de dos capítulos la historia de Flora Tristán daba la vuelta sobre sí misma, nos dejaron de importar sus andanzas, queríamos que terminará de una vez para saber sobre su nieto y sus llagas, sus correrías tras las niñas nativas, su orgía con los colores del Pacífico; pero ni siquiera la vida del rebelde Gauguin nos logra apasionar. Para mi esta novela es mucha información, muchos datos, pero poco corazón.

No comments about Paul Gauguin (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists).

1 comments about Paul Gauguin: 1848-1903 the Primitive Sophisticate (Basic Art).

1. Well, I won't waste your time. The bottom line-- is this book is worth buying. Its got great insight on many of Gauguin's paintings, and even discusses his background and influences. A must for any art student, or art buff. Your money will not be wasted! For ten bucks, you'll be buying a book you'll use time and time again. Good luck, and happy book buying!

No comments about Artists and Prints: Masterworks from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art.

4 comments about Noa Noa: The Tahitian Journal (Fine Art Series).

1. Contemplations visual, intellectual and spiritual. In 1891, French painter Paul Gauguin fled to the island of Tahiti - "a sixty-three days' voyage, sixty-three days of feverish expactancy;" begun as an unofficial visit regarding the imminent death of the island's king Pomare -- and resulting in a profoundly moving sea-change (spirit, observation, happiness). The Tahitian theology, natural history, and especially the progress of his relationships - a gift. This is a good book to read BEFORE embarking on your "desert island" voyage, but beware! Hard to top once you're there on some other island. An exceptional journal, with a graceful translation (it seems) by O. F. Theis from the French. Rated 9 (needs more color plates of paintings! but a lovely, portable paper edition) Other recommended travel/discovery books: Off the Map: Bicycling Across Siberia, by Mark Jenkins. 1993 HarperPerennial pb. Letters from Iceland, by W. H. Auden & Louis MacNeice. 1990 Paragon House pb. Why Come To Slaka? by Malcolm Bradbury. 1991 Penguin Books pb. Travels With Lizbeth (writing/homelessness), by Lars Eighner. The Starship & the Canoe (Freeman Dyson & son George) Bird of Jove (falconry), by David Bruce. 1994 Texas A&M pb. The Earthsea Trilogy, by Ursula K. Le Guin Ishi (anthropology/Native American history), by Theodora Kroeber



2. Though you may quarrel with Guaguin tactics or motivations, his art stands alone--brilliant, moving, subtle. It is always intriquing to hear the voice of a master painter and "Noa, Noa," affords that opportunity.



3. Typically considered a journal or memoir, Gauguin's book is in fact an early type of experimental multimedia novel. Thematically, Gauguin burlesques Pierre Loti's "Marriage of Loti", while structurally he interleaves narrative with his own highly-inventive Post-impressionist woodcarvings. It's a fine book: Gauguin could have been a great novelist, if he weren't already busy.



4. Very readable translation. This is not the best edition if you want good reproductions of drawings. But in terms of getting a good text for a good price it's great.
   
   I'm not really going to review the book itself as I assume most people who are here know that this was Gauguin's attempt to put together a what he hoped would be a best selling travelogue that would promote his art. He was hoping to cash in on the success of Pierre Loti's best seller the Marriage of Loti which was set in exotic Tahiti. It never made any money, but this is mostly because of it's idiosyncratic style. But for anyone interested in Gauguin's Tahitian experience it's great. Also check out his intimate journals which came out posthumously and cover also his life before Tahiti.

No comments about "Primitivism" in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern.

3 comments about Gauguin Tahiti.

1. Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) is one of 19th Century Europe's most mythic artists. He was a man of amazing talent, eccentric behavior, and controversial conduct. Leaving a career as a banker, Gauguin became obsessed with painting, eventually abandoning his family and sailing to the South Sea islands of Polynesia where he spent out the remainder of his life painting, sculpturing, producing innovative graphic works and unusual ceramics. Enhanced with 260 color and 80 b/w illustrations, Gauguin Tahiti is wonderfully presented, highly recommended, in-depth, 380-page biography of this gifted man's life and work as a European master artist who "went native" in the tropical paradise of Tahiti.



2. Most art books give you lots of gorgeous plates and a view from 50,000 feet of the artist's entire life. Gauguin Tahiti was a pleasant and positive exception from that generalization.
   
   The book does contain lots of gorgeous plates, but also shows a tremendous number of sketches and source materials backed with extensive notes on what the author wrote and said. This enables a careful reader to appreciate the development of icons, iconography, themes and cosmology. The number of interesting essays in the book is unexpectedly large: 17 by my count where the usual art book has perhaps 3 or 4. The essays come at Gauguin from slightly different perspectives, helping you to fill in a 360 degree view over time.
   
   Most art books focus on the artist's best known work. I was very pleased to see this book deal thoroughly with Gauguin's relatively little known sculptures, wood carvings, unusual prints and experimentation with materials and processes. To me, that made this book a particularly rich experience.
   
   If the book has a weakness, it's that the authors of the essays cannot quite bring themselves to describe the less attractive parts of Gauguin's life style and personal habits. So you end up with a partially sanitized package. Like so many artists, his ability to communicate visually was marred by a weak ability to relate to others in constructive and supportive ways.
   
   Be prepared to spend time with this book. Each essay builds on insights from earlier ones with lots of cross referencing of images. As a result, your knowledge will build to a level similar to that of taking an MFA course for a semester on Gauguin's Tahitian and South Sea works.
   
   If you read only one art book this year, you would do well to pick this one. This book will also make a wonderful gift for anyone who loves Gauguin's paintings and wants to learn more about his entire oeuvre.
   
   Take a close look!



3. This book gives a lot of informaton over the Tahiti-period of Gauguin, not only of his paintings but also of his his sculpture and graphic work. It's state of the art, but a bit dull. Beside, if you want to know more about the exoticism in Gauguin's oeuvre or the symbolism in his work I recommend Gauguin's skirt by Stephen Eisenman or Symbolism by Rodolphe Rapetti. On the other hand, if you are interested in the total output of the artist (and not only his paintings), this book is highly recommemded.

4 comments about The Yellow House: Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin Side by Side.

1. What a wonderful way to teach children about art! And, not only are young readers introduced to two of the most colorful and compelling artists, but they also garner lessons in learning from one another and getting along with others.

   Published in association with the Art Institute of Chicago this keepsake volume includes fine quality reproductions of paintings by van Gogh and Gauguin, as well as a brief but instructive biography of each painter.

   During the autumn of 1888 these two mercurial artists shared a home in the south of France. Lonely and wanting the company of other painters van Gogh invited Gauguin to share his home in Arles. For some two months the men worked in close proximity to one another.

   Disagree? Of course, they.did. In addition to technique and style they probably argued about a number of things. One thing they did agree on was that they could learn from each other.

   Regrettably at that time van Gogh was on the brink of his nervous breakdown, and when that occurred Gauguin fled to Paris.

   Yet, in many ways their time together was productive and memorable for both artists. "The Yellow House" will surely live in the minds of many young readers!




2. The Yellow House: Vincent van Gogh & Paul Gauguin Side By Side is a children's color picturebook about the how two legendary artists, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, lived together in a Yellow House the south of France in 1888, and shared ideas about their painting. Yet they set about their artwork in very different ways; for example, Vincent painted what he saw while Paul painted from his memory and imagination. The Yellow House is not only an enjoyable story, but also an excellent introduction to the world of art for young readers. The vibrant color artwork strives to emulate a spark of the creative genius that van Gogh and Gauguin themselves poured into their life's work. The last two pages of The Yellow House consist of short biographies of the famous artists. An ideal gift book selection, The Yellow House is highly recommended gift book for inquisitive and artistic young minds.



3. During the fall of 1888, Vincent Van Gogh invited Paul Gauguin to come live and paint with him in the Yellow House in the south of France. "...he missed the company of other people, especially artists who could discuss painting. He hoped that warm, sunny Arles would attract fellow painters to join him. Together they would form a kind of family of artists, a Studio of the South." Van Gogh and Gauguin were very different in both temperment and style. Van Gogh worked quickly, painting "exactly what he saw with his own eyes", and often completed a painting in just one sitting. He "liked to load his brush with lots of paint and put it on the canvas in dots and dashes... Thick swirls of strong colors expressed his feelings-his love of nature, his joy in painting." Gauguin worked very differently. He painted more slowly, blending his paints on a palette, and spreading the colors "smoothly in careful shapes." He "painted pictures from his imagination-feelings, fantasies, and dreams." Together they worked side by side for two months, discussing art and techniques, and learning much from each other. And even after Gauguin left Arles, they continued to encourage each other through their letters..... Based on actual events, Susan Goldman Rubin has written an elegant and compelling story about the relationship between these two great artists. Her eloquent text is straightforward and informative. But it's Jos. A. Smith's artwork that really makes this book stand out. His evocative illustrations dazzle as they compare and contrast Van Gogh's and Gauguin's styles, techniques, and use of color, and include reproductions of some of the paintings created during that two month period. With biographies at the end to fill in details about both painter's lives and work, The Yellow House is an engaging, fact filled introduction, rich in history and drama, that is sure to intrigue young art lovers 5-10, and send them out looking for more



4. This is a picture book format story for children aged 4-8, about the time period when Paul Gaugin lived with Vincent van Gogh in Arles, France. Bright and lovely illustrations by Jos. A. Smith and reproductions of van Gogh and Gaugin's works comprise the illustrations. There is not much coverage of the impressionists in general. If this is read as a first exposure to van Gogh, Gaugin, or impressionism, the child will be confused or not understanding. I feel this is a great accompaniment after the child knows something about the Impressionist movement, van Gogh, and Gaugin. The bright and lively illustrations really make this a special book.

   The story covers the time when van Gogh invited Gaugin to visit through their visit and then ending with a description of their pen pal relationship after Gaugin left Arles. The story explains the different painting methods they used, even when painting the same subject at the same time. The author explains their use of their favorite colors for backgrounds is shown and how van Gogh preferred to paint exactly what he saw while Gaugin preferred to paint from his imagination or from the content of his dreams.

   Their explosive relationship is discussed, including a fight that culminated in van Gogh cutting off part of his ear, which was the last straw for Gaugin, resulting in Gaugin's departure. Depending on the sensitivity of the child, learning of this event this could be disturbing. At the back of the book is a one-page biography of each artist. I am not sure if this part was intended to be read to the child; within the van Gogh bio, it is explained that van Gogh suffered from strange moods since boyhood, then goes on to say that after the ear-cutting episode the townspeople "demanded he be locked up in a mental hospital" and goes on to say he did end up in a mental asylum. Whether you want to read this to your young child is up to you. I take issue with the idea of telling young children that townspeople can call for someone to be locked up and then knowing it came to fruition! There is also the question of how much information you want your young child to know, or how much can they understand, about depression, mental illness and the mental asylums of the 1800s. I am not calling for censorship or shaming of depression or mental illnesses, but I have issues with as to the appropriate age to venture into a discussion of mental illness, depression and self-mutilation. Other van Gogh biographies for children aged 4-8 have not included information about the ear-cutting or about the mental asylum visit, although adults seem to always be interested in this part of van Gogh's life.

   If the book did not contain the ear-cutting incident in the main body of the story I'd rate this 5 stars; I'll rate it 4 stars due to the content potentially being disturbing for children aged 4-8 which the publisher states this is appropriate for.