Speaker: Eveline Eaton
6 February 2018
Based on the ideas of Impressionism, Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) pushed the style from appearance to experience and from an art of the eye to an art of the mind. In order to achieve his new Post-Impressionism, Gauguin left the over-refinement of Western civilization behind for the more ‘primitive’ environments of the South Seas where he evolved a non-naturalistic, enigmatic vision of the world with a strong emphasis on colour, a powerful impact on Matisse. Which aspect of his teacher’s prediction is true then: “This boy will be either a genius or a madman”?
Reading: Wildenstein & Cogniat, 1972 Gauguin Thames and Hudson Exhibition Catalogues Gauguin 1988 and Gauguin/van Gogh 2002
Profile
BA Hons Courtauld Institute; Diploma:Study Centre for the History of Fine & Decorative Arts. Freelance lecturer in Fine Arts and tour guide to Berlin, Dresden and Munich. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dresden Trust.