What do you think?
Rate this book
Paul Gauguin, His Life and Art
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
- GenresArt
97 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2003
16 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
John Gould Fletcher
104 books5 followersJohn Gould Fletcher is considered by many literary scholars to be among the most innovative twentieth-century poets. He is closely associated with poet Amy Lowell and the Imagist movement she championed. In addition to being an adherent of Imagism, which was dedicated to replacing traditional poetics with a more concise use of language, new rhythms, and a concrete rather than discursive or symbolic treatment of subject, Fletcher also wrote poetry that drew from such varied sources as French Symbolism, Oriental art and philosophy, and music. Later in his career Fletcher concentrated less on technical innovation and began to develop themes he had previously only touched upon in his work, including humanity's relation to nature and the individual's search for God and salvation. During this period, he also became associated with the Fugitives, a group of American poets dedicated to reviving an agrarian way of life and traditional Southern values.
Fletcher was born to an affluent Arkansas family on January 3, 1886. His father, who was also John Gould Fletcher, was a veteran of the Confederate Army, and made his fortune after the war, both in brokering cotton and in banking. Already fifty-five at the time of Fletcher's birth, the elder John Gould would prove a fairly remote figure to his son. Of his two parents, Fletcher clearly took after his mother, who was twenty-four years younger than her husband and a great lover of literature, music, and the arts. When Fletcher was three, the family moved into the Albert Pike mansion in Little Rock, where they remained throughout his formative years. In retrospect, Fletcher often spoke of the gloom and desolation of the place—even at an early age, his life was characterized by a solitude from which he would never completely emerge.
Having little social life, Fletcher became a voracious reader. His preferences ran toward the decadent and pessimistic, especially as he grew older. The writings of Edgar Allan Poe were his constant companions in adolescence, and while attending Harvard he developed a lifelong love of French literature, devouring the works of Theophile Gautier and Charles Baudelaire, as well as Dante Rossetti, William Morris, Walter Pater, and Oscar Wilde. It was at this time that Fletcher began writing poetry of his own, though he seldom showed it to anyone, being an entirely private person.
Fletcher did not prosper at Harvard. He did not fit into Massachusetts society well, neglected the syllabi to pursue his own reading, and skipped classes regularly so as to have more time for the University Library, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the symphony. Determined to pursue a literary career, his lack of application in his studies was the cause of considerable friction between Fletcher and his father, who wanted him to become a banker or lawyer. When his father died in 1906, Fletcher inherited the family fortune and a sizeable annuity. Apparently unable to see the point of further education, and against the wishes of his mother, who, like his father, felt he should leave literature on the side and take on a profession, Fletcher dropped out of Harvard just before the final exams in 1907. The following year he departed the country for Italy. When his mother died in 1910, he did not return home.
Venice and Rome were the next sites of Fletcher's ongoing self-education. He soaked up the atmosphere, flirted with the idea of converting to Roman Catholicism, wrote more poetry, and read voraciously. In 1909 he relocated to London, where he began to meet other poets and artists. His interest in painting was especially strong, and he never missed an important exhibition. This abiding fascination with both the arts and music would deeply influence his later poetry, although at the time his work was fairly conventional. He doggedly assailed publishers with his poems, but to no success. Finally, he approached four different publishers and arranged to finance five volumes of his p
Fletcher was born to an affluent Arkansas family on January 3, 1886. His father, who was also John Gould Fletcher, was a veteran of the Confederate Army, and made his fortune after the war, both in brokering cotton and in banking. Already fifty-five at the time of Fletcher's birth, the elder John Gould would prove a fairly remote figure to his son. Of his two parents, Fletcher clearly took after his mother, who was twenty-four years younger than her husband and a great lover of literature, music, and the arts. When Fletcher was three, the family moved into the Albert Pike mansion in Little Rock, where they remained throughout his formative years. In retrospect, Fletcher often spoke of the gloom and desolation of the place—even at an early age, his life was characterized by a solitude from which he would never completely emerge.
Having little social life, Fletcher became a voracious reader. His preferences ran toward the decadent and pessimistic, especially as he grew older. The writings of Edgar Allan Poe were his constant companions in adolescence, and while attending Harvard he developed a lifelong love of French literature, devouring the works of Theophile Gautier and Charles Baudelaire, as well as Dante Rossetti, William Morris, Walter Pater, and Oscar Wilde. It was at this time that Fletcher began writing poetry of his own, though he seldom showed it to anyone, being an entirely private person.
Fletcher did not prosper at Harvard. He did not fit into Massachusetts society well, neglected the syllabi to pursue his own reading, and skipped classes regularly so as to have more time for the University Library, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the symphony. Determined to pursue a literary career, his lack of application in his studies was the cause of considerable friction between Fletcher and his father, who wanted him to become a banker or lawyer. When his father died in 1906, Fletcher inherited the family fortune and a sizeable annuity. Apparently unable to see the point of further education, and against the wishes of his mother, who, like his father, felt he should leave literature on the side and take on a profession, Fletcher dropped out of Harvard just before the final exams in 1907. The following year he departed the country for Italy. When his mother died in 1910, he did not return home.
Venice and Rome were the next sites of Fletcher's ongoing self-education. He soaked up the atmosphere, flirted with the idea of converting to Roman Catholicism, wrote more poetry, and read voraciously. In 1909 he relocated to London, where he began to meet other poets and artists. His interest in painting was especially strong, and he never missed an important exhibition. This abiding fascination with both the arts and music would deeply influence his later poetry, although at the time his work was fairly conventional. He doggedly assailed publishers with his poems, but to no success. Finally, he approached four different publishers and arranged to finance five volumes of his p
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 15, 2020
"Estou no chão, mas não sou espancado. O índio, que sorri enquanto está sendo torturado, não é conquistado. Está enganado se quis dizer que estou errado em chamar-me selvagem. Estou um selvagem e o civilizado sente isso, pois não há nada em meu trabalho que possa produzir perplexidade, exceto essa tensão selvagem em mim, pela qual eu não sou responsável. Portanto, é inimitável. Todo trabalho humano é uma revelação do indivíduo. Portanto, existem dois tipos de beleza; um vem do instinto, o outro do trabalho. A união dos dois, com as modificações daí resultantes, produz uma riqueza grande e muito complicada. A crítica de arte ainda não descobriu o fato ... A grande ciência de Raphael não me impede por um momento de descobrir o instinto do belo como a qualidade essencial nele. Rafael nasceu com beleza. Todo o resto nele é modificação.
"No entanto, a civilização, afinal, tinha a última palavra. O próprio bispo, a quem Gauguin na vida odiava e caricaturara, interveio quando ficou frio e sem vida e o corpo do pintor foi enterrado com ritos católicos completos no cemitério da Igreja de Atuana. E, por um golpe final de ironia, o túmulo foi deixado sem marcação. Assim, um dos maiores pintores do final do século XIX e um dos homens mais corajosos que o mundo já viu misturou sua poeira com a dos nativos mais humildes, havia sido enterrado diante dele em uma cova não identificada entre os pobres."
"Na prosa de Rousseau, na poesia de Whitman e na pintura de Gauguin, vemos o único brilho de esperança para a humanidade auto-torturada e a promessa de uma terra onde a natureza e o homem são um e onde reina uma paz que ultrapassa todo entendimento."
"No entanto, a civilização, afinal, tinha a última palavra. O próprio bispo, a quem Gauguin na vida odiava e caricaturara, interveio quando ficou frio e sem vida e o corpo do pintor foi enterrado com ritos católicos completos no cemitério da Igreja de Atuana. E, por um golpe final de ironia, o túmulo foi deixado sem marcação. Assim, um dos maiores pintores do final do século XIX e um dos homens mais corajosos que o mundo já viu misturou sua poeira com a dos nativos mais humildes, havia sido enterrado diante dele em uma cova não identificada entre os pobres."
"Na prosa de Rousseau, na poesia de Whitman e na pintura de Gauguin, vemos o único brilho de esperança para a humanidade auto-torturada e a promessa de uma terra onde a natureza e o homem são um e onde reina uma paz que ultrapassa todo entendimento."
December 12, 2017
A brief but well written account of Paul Gauguin's life and some of the motivations behind his art and travels to the south pacific.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews