Gauguin’s interest in the exotic and the “primitive” can be attributed, in large part, to his childhood and to the events that preceded his professional painting career. Gauguin was born in 1848 in France into what Bernard Denvir describes as “a bohemian family,” which in turn led to “a correspondingly unconventional childhood.” (Denvir, 10) A striking example of this lack of conventionality can be seen in the Gauguin family’s move to Lima, Peru in 1849 to escape the political climate in France. (Wildenstein, 563) Although Gauguin’s father died on the journey, the family remained in Peru for four years, giving Gauguin an early taste for the exotic. Gauguin’s mother, Aline, finally moved her family back to France at the end of 1854 due to the death of her father-in-law as well as the civil war in Peru. (Wildenstein, 566) Upon his return, Gauguin attended a boarding school in Paris and later joined the Merchant Marines and then the French Navy. In 1867, while in the Marines, Gauguin’s mother Aline died, leaving him in the guardianship of family friend Gustave Arosa. (Le Pinchon, 21) During these years of service Gauguin was exposed to many exotic, primitive parts of the world, traveling to locations including Rio de Janeiro, Guadalupe and a number of towns along the Chilean coast. (Wildenstein, 558) Despite the constant travel, Gauguin was dissatisfied with the experience and referred to it as “a bitter episode in my life.” (Le Pinchon, 21)
In 1871 this “bitter episode” came to an end when Gauguin was discharged and, under the guidance of Arosa, worked as a stockbroker. (Wildenstein, 574) In 1873 Gauguin’s life took another turn when he met and shortly after married Danish woman Mette Sophie Gad. (Denvir, 15) Although having, as Denvir mentions, “skeptical” views on the institution of marriage, Gauguin and Gad had five children together between 1873 and 1883. (Denvir, 15) During these years Gauguin continued to work as broker yet became increasingly interested in painting and involved with the Impressionists. In 1883 Gauguin finally gave up business and became a professional painter for both personal and financial reasons. Shortly after, in 1886, he abandoned his family and headed to Brittany, thus beginning his movement toward Symbolism. (Wildenstein, XIII) Although still tied to the traditions of Impressionism at this point, Gauguin’s initial travels and unconventional early life clearly foreshadowed his coming search for the “primitive” and Symbolic that led him first to Brittany and later to the South Seas.
Photograph of Paul Gauguin (left), Portrait of Aline Gauguin, "The Artist's Mother," 1890. (right)