Eug\u00e8ne-Henri-Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), French painter, of a family of intellectuals, was born in Paris. His father was a journalist and his mother a writer. Emperor Napoleon III exercised absolute power in France between 1852 and 1858 and persecuted the press. Thus, for authoritarian reasons of this policy, with the Gauguin family he lived part of his childhood in Lima, Peru, until he was 7 years old.<\/p>\n
After changes in the political scene, in 1855, with his family he returned to live in France and as a teenager, at the age of 17, he served in the Navy, which gave him the opportunity to travel through several countries. This experience may have given Gauguin a taste for observing nature and as an art collector.<\/p>\n
He even bought the painting Fruit, Glass and Apples, by C\u00e9zanne. Later he was a successful stockbroker in Paris, married in 1873 and has five children.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the age of 35, however, he became convinced that he should dedicate himself entirely to art. Thus, he abandoned his career as a businessman and his family and, around 1889, he was the central figure of a new movement called Symbolism. His style, although less intensely personal than that of Van Gogh, was an even bolder advance beyond Impressionism.<\/p>\n
The absolute dedication to self-taught painting led Gauguin to enter into deep poverty and, like C\u00e9zanne, to seek isolation. For this, in 1888, he went to live with Van Gogh in Arles, a city where life was cheaper, and there, he lived an artistic experience with his friend. In this way, the coexistence promoted great productions for the two painters who admired Japanese prints. However, despite the friendship they had for each other, their paintings were completely different.\u00a0<\/p>\n