Gauguin Tahiti

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The life of Paul Gauguin is one of the most mythic in Western art history. A banker and “Sunday painter,” he abandoned family and homeland to seek a life “in ecstasy, in peace, and for art” in the South Seas. This major retrospective offers an in-depth study of his transformative Polynesian years, which have profoundly shaped our perception of the artist. It features essays by prominent American and French critics covering various aspects of Gauguin's work, including his renowned canvases, sculptures, ceramics, and innovative graphic pieces. The discussions also delve into the Polynesian society, culture, and religion that influenced his art, alongside a detailed biographical narrative capturing his epiphanies, frustrations, and discoveries during this pivotal time. Central to the exhibition is Gauguin's 1897 masterpiece, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, representing the pinnacle of his mature career, presented with unprecedented depth. Over a century later, Gauguin remains an enigmatic figure of 19th-century art and a key player in modernism, with this retrospective illuminating the vibrant and dramatic essence of this crucial period in his life.