Paul Gauguin
By Illa Vij

PAUL GAUGUIN was one of the pioneers of art. In 1959 at a Sotheby’s auction, a Gauguin painting was sold for £ 140,000. But, ironically, while Paul lived, his earnings from art were barely enough to feed him. Even when he died, many of his paintings were sold only for a couple of pounds. A fisherman once found three trunks loaded with this artist’s canvases and drawings, but he dumped them into the sea,failing to realise their value. Today those pieces would have fetched a fortune.

This unfortunate painter, whose art was valued years after his death, was born in Paris in 1848. His father was a journalist. Paul passed out of school at the age of 17, and became a sailor. He sailed for six years and then returned to Paris. He began making money as a stockbroker. He became quite wealthy and lived luxuriously. He married Mette Gad who made a perfect wife. They had five children. When Paul began painting, Mette felt it was a good hobby but did not realise that he was soon going to immerse himself in it. Some time later, Paul’s business began to slacken. By the time he was 35 years old, he gave up his business and devoted himself to painting. Within the next few months, Paul began to run out of money. The family lost its home and furnishings. Paul’s wife and children left for Denmark. Paul also followed them but Mette’s parents rebuked him. He returned to Paris and continued to paint. He begged Mette to return to him, but she refused to do so as she knew that he could neither afford to feed himself nor the family. Gauguin continued to live in cold attics. His clothes got tattered and many a time he had to do without any food. He went to Brittany and later to a friend in Arles, in the south of France. His friend Vincent Van Gogh was quite an eccentric painter.Vincent’s brother Theo, an art dealer, financed Paul’s trip, hoping he would be of some help to his half-mad brother. Initially, the two lived in harmony, but soon they got into a dispute and Gauguin left. (Van Gogh had got into a fit of insanity. He slashed his own ear with a blade and was hospitalised. Two years later, he shot himself and died).

Paul returned to Brittany where he painted, made sculptures in wood and marble. Poverty-stricken, he lived in an inn, where he painted its walls and ceiling . He auctioned his paintings, and received enough money to travel to the South Seas. In Tahiti, he lived in a hut overlooking a lagoon. Paul painted some exquisite pieces. He returned to France to sell them, but most of them remained unsold, while a few were bought by his old friends. Dejected, he returned to Tahiti; and then moved to Dominica where he contracted a dreadful disease which had no cure. His limbs began to give way and he could not walk. After some time, Paul lost his eyesight too. He died on May 3, 1903, in a filthy hut.

Many years after Paul’s death, his work gained value. Paintings were gathered from bars, boarding houses, inns and brothels. Paul used to trade them for taking accommodation or a bottle of wine. Considered worthless, they were put away in attics or cellars. Paul’s life was tragic but he never lost faith in himself. Before dying, he wrote: "I believe that art has a divine source and lives in hearts of all men who have been touched by the heavenly light." Some of the most remarkable paintings of Paul Gauguin include, The Women of Arles , Landscape of Arles, The Yellow Christ, Self-Portrait, Tahiti, The Spirit of the Dead Watching and Where Do We Come From?

Vincent Van Gogh

The phase of insanity in which the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh lived during the last few years of his life, did not deter him from his work. In fact some of his greatest pieces were painted at this time. His brother Theo had immense faith in him and supported him. Van Gogh was born in Groot Zundert, Holland, on March 3, 1853. He had a torturous time settling in his career. In 1888, he went to Arles where Paul Gauguin joined him. He continued to paint until the day of his death. He shot himself on July 29, 1890. Some of his greatest works include The Raising of Lazarus, The Ravine, Garden at Arles and Sunflowers. His works too were valued after his death.