Gauguin finished painting this painting, and Lao Tzu died

Mark Twain said

The two most important days of life are the day you were born and the day you understand why you are alive.

But this year, Gauguin went crazy, quit his high-paying job, gave up his life in high society, and planned to devote himself to art and become a painter with an uncertain future.

Gauguin felt that he finally understood what he was living for the rest of his life, and that was to be an artist.

However, friends felt that Gauguin was crazy because he made a decision that even the children knew was wrong.

This dramatic change also made Gauguin pay a terrible price, he devoted all his time and energy to painting, but the family could not even eat, and his wife had to take the family to her parents' house, but Gauguin's decision was not understood, and what followed was a series of cynicism.

At the age of 38, Gauguin could no longer stand this ridicule, and he broke off relations with his family, claiming that he wanted to escape from civilized society and to a desert island.

After becoming a painter, Gauguin lived a poor life most of the time, however, he found himself in the painting and became Gauguin, the world lacks a decent ** agent, it will not make people feel regretful, but if there is one less painter Gauguin, it may make many people feel regretful.

After Gauguin's death, Maugham saw Gauguin's paintings, deeply moved, and after visiting the desert island where Gauguin lived in seclusion, he created "The Moon and Sixpence" based on Gauguin's prototype, which sold well all over the world, was translated into more than 60 languages, and swept 110 countries.

The ground was full of sixpence life, and he looked up and saw the moon.

Today, let's take a look at Gauguin's story and see his life of suffering in the world for his dreams.

On June 7, 1848, in Paris, the capital of the arts, Gauguin was born.

His birth, in the history of art, is like the appearance of a star.

When Gauguin was 3 years old, his father died of a heart attack, and the young Gauguin had no father, and his mother had to take Gauguin to his mother's house.

There, Gauguin saw many famous paintings and antiques, and had the opportunity to often see those exquisite paintings and sculptures, which is probably his original fate with art.

Whenever there is a festival, the local indigenous women wear colorful dance costumes and dance all the way, like a rainbow on the horizon.

Their bronzed skin, in the sun, seemed to glow.

Such a scene made Gauguin obsessed, and he leaned on the window and watched it all intently.

Since the death of her husband, the mother has been preoccupied with her children, and she tries to hold on to them tightly, as if she had the only sense of security in her hands, but the young Gauguin is a free spirit, he does not want to be controlled, he just wants to be free and easy.

Children are relatively lucky, their freedom can be obtained through willfulness, but adult people do not dare to be easily willful.

In 1855, Gauguin's grandfather died, leaving Gauguin's mother and son an inheritance in his will, but it was not stated how much.

Gauguin's mother and son hurried back to their hometown, only to find that the amount of this inheritance was simply not enough to sustain their lives.

The mother wanted to take Gauguin back to her parents' home, but by coincidence, something happened to her mother's family, and the old man who held the property rights passed away, and the inheritance left by Gauguin's mother and son was also privately swallowed by others because they were not present.

This dramatic life change made people laugh and cry, and Gauguin's mother and son lost their rich life and could only barely make ends meet.

Gauguin lost his rich young master life and became a child struggling to survive, and from then on, he needed to do his best to arrange his life better.

All the step-by-step life, in the end, there will only be a step-by-step way of living.

In the blink of an eye, Gauguin also reached the age of going to school.

At school, Gauguin was a wonder, he was often depressed and maverick.

He lay alone under the walnut tree, and when asked what he was doing, he lazily raised his eyelids and said that he was waiting for the walnut to land.

He would also carve patterns on trees as if they were a world.

The world grows in strange shapes, but Gauguin grows more and more normal, he becomes more and more gregarious, but in his heart, there is a world.

More importantly, he learned how to judge things according to his own wishes, rather than following the crowd.

He really wants to organize his life according to his own ideas.

After two years of preparatory school, Gauguin felt that school life was boring, and he did not want to waste his life in this boredom.

He wanted to be a sailor, work with the sea, and live a life full of passion.

So, he ran to his mother and told her about his decision.

Gauguin's words made his mother panic.

That's too dangerous.

But Gauguin had already made up his mind, and no matter what his mother said, it would be of no avail.

Subsequently, he boarded a merchant ship and became a schoolboy.

For the next three years, Gauguin lived as an apprentice on a ship, drifting freely on the sea.

Three years later, he served on a naval battleship and became a real sailor.

After 6 years at sea, Gauguin became a strong, mature man, and he decided to return home.

When Gauguin returned home, he found himself homeless, his mother had died unexpectedly, and everything in his family had been destroyed by the war.

At this time, Gauguin was alone and had nothing to worry about.

He used his mother's relationships before his death to get a job as a ** agent.

From then on, Gauguin stepped into a completely different world of life.

This is the life world of the small citizen, who has an enviable job, an enviable salary, and a bright future.

This is something that the world desires, but for some people, such a thing can only satisfy the needs of the laity, but not the soul of a genius.

In 1873, Gauguin was 25 years old, and as a ** agent, he had a bright future.

* Brokering is his essential job, and painting is his hobby.

This year, he met the girl he liked, Mette.

Mette was born in an ordinary family, and there were a lot of troubles at home, and he went out as a nanny as a teenager to help the family earn money.

She was tall, well-proportioned, lively, and beautiful with large blue eyes.

When he met Mette, Gauguin felt that he had met love.

He began to pursue the girl passionately, accompany her shopping, take her for a walk in the park, and Gauguin soon caught up with Mette with his strength, because at this time Gauguin, handsome and chic, smiled very well, and fully met the expectations of Mette's dream lover.

What Mette longs for is a husband with a successful career, a group of lively and lovely children, and an enviable life.

All this, Gauguin could give her.

She happily agreed to Gauguin's marriage proposal and married Gauguin in November of that year.

After the two got married, Mette learned that Gauguin had a deep-rooted habit, which was to love painting.

But Mette also feels that there is nothing wrong with painting, and art can also decorate life and make life look more elegant.

In Mette's view, painting is just a hobby, and it doesn't affect life.

But for Gauguin, painting was obviously not just an interest in decorating life, his obsession with painting became more and more serious, and he devoted more and more time to painting, becoming an amateur painter.

Every week, he took a day or two to learn to paint, and he got better and better, and his friends encouraged him to participate in art exhibitions.

In 1876, one of Gauguin's works was exhibited alongside works by some famous painters.

Gauguin couldn't hide his excitement, he asked himself, can I really be a real painter? Do I have such a talent?

There is no doubt that some passion within him has been ignited and has been out of control ever since.

Monet was one of the most famous painters of his time, and Gauguin took his work and walked up to Monet in the hope of getting guidance.

To Gauguin's excitement, Monet actually commented:

Very good. Gauguin felt that he was only an amateur painter, and Monet encouraged him:

No, you're not. Amateur painters are those who can't get their paintings formed. ”

A lot of painters are crazy, Monet once said:

"A person who has to give up his attachment to everything but love painting is a true painter. ”

"It's not enough to be familiar with the industry, it's important to have the passion to be driven by the industry. ”

Once the seed of longing is planted, all that remains is to wait silently, and when it breaks the ground, it will be out of control.

When Gauguin had only a little interest in painting, his wife encouraged and supported him, because she saw Gauguin's hobby as an embellishment of noble life.

But Gauguin became more and more fanatical about painting, which made his wife feel miserable.

He bought paintings like crazy, and it was an impressionist painting that no one cared about at the time.

The wife felt that Gauguin was crazy.

But Gauguin didn't care, he loved to paint.

Not for anything else, but simply for love.

In the art world, Cézanne has always been an idol of Gauguin, Cézanne is proud, free and uninhibited.

Gauguin, eager to learn from his idol, went to great lengths to meet Cézanne, but Cézanne told him that there was no quick trick to painting, and that as long as he kept drawing, he could catch the "feeling" of painting.

The meeting with these masters also made Gauguin understand that he still has a lot to learn.

So, he studied harder.

He wanted to paint and become a professional painter at all costs, but he dragged his family and became a father of five children, and he couldn't leave them alone.

However, the impulse to paint prevailed over all external considerations, and at the beginning of 1883, Gauguin resigned from his decent job, and he calmly announced to his wife:

"I decided to become a professional painter, and now I can go and paint. ”

At this time, Gauguin, 35 years old, had a successful career and a happy family, but he finally knew what he was living for, he wanted to be a painter.

Thirty years ago, his mother brought him into this world, and he received a physical life.

But at this time, knowing what he was living for, his soul opened his eyes, and he won a second life for himself, this time of rebirth, so that he found the meaning of life, that is, to be a painter.

Although he quit his well-paying job, Gauguin was hopeful about life.

He conceited to his painter friend:

"As long as we make changes, we will definitely be able to make money from art. ”

Gauguin was soon beaten by reality, he could not make money from art at all, he was at a loss in Paris, and a friend of Rouen wrote that the people of Rouen loved to paint, and even ordinary hotels hung many impressionist works.

When Gauguin heard this, he felt that there was such an opportunity, so why not give it a try, he believed that in Rouen, he would definitely be able to sell his paintings.

Friends advised him not to be so naïve, art is not the same as business.

But Gauguin insisted on going his own way, and he dragged his family to Rouen, but after a year, he still did not sell the paintings, and the savings were spent, and when the whole family was almost unable to eat, his wife could only take a large family to her mother's house.

However, the reality was cruel, and Gauguin was not only not welcomed, but was miserably despised.

When the mother-in-law saw that Gauguin and his entourage were mighty, with five children and bundles of canvases, she was angry and felt too annoying.

Mette had no choice, became a teacher and earned a few copper plates.

Gauguin really had no choice but to become a French teacher, but painting was still his life, and he painted whenever he had time.

He complained:

"Recently, art has tormented me the most, and money has tormented me the most! ”

However, suffering and frustration sometimes bring people closer to the soul, and Gauguin's painting skills were transformed, and he finally realized that he had to find what really belonged to him, and not copy the skills of others.

During these days of suffering, he kept thinking, pursuing, exploring, he said:

"The great artist in my mind is the one who knows how to convey wisdom, which allows him to express the most delicate, subtle, and elusive feelings and intuition. ”

Painting did not bring Gauguin material, but it enriched his soul.

Draw freely, draw like crazy.

However, life is still a mess, cynicism continues, and people treat Gauguin coldly and dismissively.

Gauguin was bent on pursuing his ideals, and his wife sympathized with Gauguin at first and felt sorry for Gauguin, but she gradually felt hopeless about Gauguin.

All this made Gauguin miserable.

He gradually became disillusioned with society and family.

Everyone treated him as useless waste, and Gauguin was unwilling to compromise with them.

In 1885, Gauguin could not bear all this, he abandoned his wife and children, ran away from his family, and went to Paris, where he hoped to make a new place.

However, he fell into even deeper despair, he could not find a job, he was not cared for to paint, and he was taken in by his former groom to save him from being on the streets.

He couldn't eat enough every day, endured hunger, and was depressed, so he had no choice but to go back to being a ** agent.

But he didn't go back, he was tired of the world, he was tired of tradition, and he didn't want to give in to tradition, and he didn't want to give in to reality.

He found a part-time job handing out leaflets and posters, and in the cold winter, braving the biting winds, he earned five francs a day.

These days did not change until May 1886, when Gauguin exhibited 19 paintings at an exhibition, and a single painting sold for 250 francs at most.

But Gauguin's life was still poor, he just wanted to concentrate on painting, he left the city and lived on a small island, looking for inspiration for painting wholeheartedly.

He painted a lot of paintings, which, as always, did not make a difference in life.

When he was sick, there was no one to take care of him, and he didn't even have time to take care of his life.

He said self-deprecatingly

"Although I have gained some fame, I am still hungry and cold, and I have run out of energy! "

"Paris is a desert for the poor, and I can't stay any longer. ”

Gauguin was tired of civilized society, and he wanted to escape.

He knew a desert island with beautiful scenery and was very suitable for painting, so he followed the trail, but after he went, he was disappointed, the original desert island had long been polluted by civilization, and the smell of work, money and profit was everywhere.

So, Gauguin thought of another desert island, he wanted to go there, but he had no money, he could only dig a ditch with the workers, trying to earn his own travel expenses, but he was fired due to physical exhaustion.

In the end, it was a friend who helped people paint portraits on the street, and the two earned the travel expenses.

Gauguin liked the environment, with the endless blue ocean in front of him, an orchard full of fruit trees behind the house, and a lush forest in the distance.

It's full of freedom and sunshine.

The soul of Gauguin, galloping in the boundless sky.

He paints women with baskets, villages, coasts, everything he can paint, but he paints women the most.

Drawing and drawing, he finally found the most suitable way to paint, and he no longer imitated, but became his true self.

On this desert island, he is still poor, the thatched hut they built themselves cannot keep the rain out, they have no money, and they gnaw coconuts when they are hungry.

Desperate, Gauguin had to turn to the embassy for help.

Art feeds the soul, but it can't feed the body.

But the embassy rejected Gauguin's request, and Gauguin became a sailor before taking a boat back to France.

Although Gauguin was still poor and homeless, his paintings conquered some people, and Van Gogh was one of them.

After several twists and turns, Van Gogh picked up a studio by himself, and he invited Gauguin to live and paint together.

For Van Gogh, Gauge admired it, but he knew that Van Gogh was a violent temper, so he didn't see him for a long time, and it was not until October 1888 that the two masters finally met.

When he arrived at Van Gogh's yellow house, Gauguin found that everything was in a mess, and Gauguin had to take Van Gogh to clean and tidy up his residence like a big brother.

For a while after that, they visited brothels together and painted together, like two swordsmen, learning from each other, but they always got angry.

Not long after, Gauguin left.

And Van Gogh also ended his life more than a year later.

After Van Gogh's death, Gauguin wrote a eulogy:

Death said to him a relief, a comfort, that death would forever stop all his suffering, and in the next life, he would reap the harvest of this life. ”

Life, as long as you live, has been miserable.

Gauguin has always longed to have his own house and build his own studio in a place full of freedom, so that he can create and live freely.

He said to his friend:

"I'm 42 years old, my time is running out and I want to forget the past and all my family responsibilities. ”

However, he has no money and can't even take care of his life.

In Paris, Gauguin was dressed strangely, with clogs carved with strange patterns on his feet, a sailor coat embroidered with strange patterns, a pair of loose blue trousers, and a flat round hat on his head.

Walking on the street, he is the most beautiful boy, full of an exotic style.

At the beginning of 1891, Gauguin held a very successful exhibition, selling a total of 30 paintings and earning nearly 10,000 yuan.

At this time, Monet, a painting was nearly 3,000 francs, and Gauguin's heart was sour.

He has money, he can finally do what he wants, he knows that this money is not enough to live for long in a place like Paris, and the only place he can go is to escape to a desert island.

So, he took the money and went to Tahiti.

He declared:

"Gauguin in France died. ”

The sea is blue and crystal clear, and a pretty girl with a flower crown sits alone in the stern of the boat, the shore is filled with fine sand and coconut shadows, and the air is mixed with the fresh ...... of herbs and sea breeze

What surprised him the most was the quiet of the night, without a sound, and occasionally a leaf fell, like a gentle knock on the soul.

The customs here are completely in line with his ideals.

Here he rented a hut and began to live the life he wanted, and at dusk he walked to the beach and sat by the water to smoke.

He likes to live like this:

"I'm far away from those cells, those European houses."

He fished, swam, felled wood, and harvested breadfruit with the locals.

"I escape from the falsehood of the world, identify with heaven and earth, and nature, and I sincerely hope that tomorrow will be as peaceful and beautiful as today. ”

On the island of Tahiti, Gauguin's inspiration burst and the flame of his soul burned hot.

He just wanted to paint everything he saw.

He was married here, his wife was young and beautiful, and she took care of Gauguin's life, washing and cooking for him, walking with him, and laughing with him.

Looking at his beautiful wife, Gauguin painted her portrait after portrait.

He said:

Civilization was moving away from me, and I began to think very simply, no longer hating my neighbors, but trying to love them.

I live freely and fully appreciate the joy that humans and animals bring me.

However, he was still poor, and the paintings he sent out did not sell to Gauguin, and Gauguin had no money, so he was likely to be sent back.

But there was nothing he could do, he could only keep drawing, his eyes were in trouble, his vision was severely reduced, but he did not despair, but said:

Where there is hope, there is life. I can only live to fulfill my mission in this life if I continue to prolong my illusions and create hope in my dreams.

Returning to civilized society again, Gauguin unexpectedly received another inheritance, and he once again became the strangest painter on the streets of Paris, dressed strangely and maverick.

A year later, he was again far from civilization and returned to the island of Tahiti, a 47-year-old Gauguin, syphilis-ridden, poor and sick, a failed middle-aged man.

Because of the ravages of syphilis, Gauguin's legs hurt so much that he couldn't even walk, but he insisted on painting.

In 1896, "The King and His Wife" was completed, and the length was 13 meters, 1 meter wide.

When he wasn't painting, he carved in the yard, and when the carving was finished, he didn't care, just put it on the grass.

His life was still poor, and illness tormented him, and he decided to commit suicide.

But before committing suicide, he had to complete a monumental painting.

For a whole month, he devoted himself to painting and forgot to sleep and eat.

After painting, Gauguin felt that it was the best of all his works.

This painting is "Where do we come from?" Who are we? Are we going to **? , length 3746 cm, width 139 cm.

In this painting, he painted a reflection on life, birth, growth, and death.

After finishing the painting, he felt that he could die.

So, he took the poison and went up the mountain alone, found a secluded place, and committed suicide by taking poison.

However, the amount of poison was too small, Gauguin did not die, and after the effect of the drug occurred, he could not die, so he could only lie down the mountain and ask for help.

Suicide attempt, the consequence was that he lay in bed and raised him for two months.

Two months later, he climbed out of bed and got a part-time job, earning 6 francs a day, painting while healing.

Life is still life.

However, painting made Gao more alive once.

In 1901, Gauguin was 53 years old, but he had an even wilder idea.

He felt that Tahiti was not primitive enough and civilized, and he wanted to live on a completely primitive desert island.

In August of that year, he propped up his boat and drifted to what he thought was a primitive island.

He said:

I believe that it is only in complete primeval and silence that the last spark of fanaticism within me can be ignited, and my talent can be fully burned.

He placed the statue on both sides of the toilet for people to admire.

He still paints:

"No matter what, I'm going to fulfill my mission. ”

On the island, Gauguin was not popular with civilized people, but the natives liked him very much.

Gauguin was indignant at the oppression of the island's indigenous people by the so-called civilized people, and he collected evidence for the indigenous people and sent it to the authorities, but no one wanted to believe that he was a madman.

For this, he was also arrested and sent to prison, where he was held for several months.

At the end of his life, his legs were swollen and ulcerating, and he could not stand for long periods of time, and it became difficult for him to draw, so he began to write:

All my life I have tried to break away from traditional dogma. Those dogmas not only undermine the artist's freedom, but also blind the public.

In May 1903, Gauguin was so ill that even the doctors could not do anything.

On May 8, Gauguin died, and the indigenous old man cried

The master is gone, and our people have lost their support since then.

Ever since he decided to paint, he has never stopped.

It was also since he painted that he had been poor.

Gauguin once said:

I believe in the true meaning of the Holy Soul and Art, that they are one and cannot be separated ......

I believe that art is deeply rooted in the hearts of all who are infected by the Holy Spirit. I believe that once you have tasted the essence of great art, you will never be able to withdraw from it, and you will never give up on it.

I also believe that anyone who dedicates their life to art will be blessed.

There are people who are still alive, who are already dead.

Some people died, but he lived forever.

In the first half of his life, Gauguin lived the life of a small citizen, rich in material things, and lived in high society, which was enviable, but he himself did not feel the fullness of life.

In the second half of his life, he followed the desire of his soul to paint, and decided to become a painter, he was poor and hungry, but his soul was tempered, and he felt full.

To this day, no one can say what kind of life is good, and Gauguin doesn't know, he just wants to arrange his life better.

But what is good?

This is not a life question with a fixed answer, but a life question that can be chosen by personality, no matter what, a person, true to himself, did what he wanted, no matter what the result is, at least he can have no regrets.

I guess that's okay too.

We live in a world that is good at setting standards, but we must not forget that we are our own standards, because there is only one life, and everyone is unique.

Text|Not interesting soul & plain shoes.