The Intimate Journals Of Paul Gauguin

The Intimate Journals of Paul Gaugui, depicts the experiences of the French artist while living on a Polynesian island and discusses the culture of the natives of the island.

With a preface by the artist's son Emil Gauguin.

This is a new release of the original 1936 edition.

A journal of the two years Gauguin spent in Tahiti, this work presents keen observations of the island and its people, and the artists' passionate struggle to achieve the inner harmony he expressed so profoundly on canvas. 24 black-and-white illustrations.

"An original study of Gauguin's writings, unfolding their central role in his artistic practice and negotiation of colonial identity. As a French artist who lived in Polynesia, Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) occupies a crucial position in histories of European primitivism. This is the first book devoted to his wide-ranging literary output, which included journalism, travel writing, art criticism, and essays on aesthetics, religion, and politics. It analyzes his original manuscripts, some of which are richly illustrated, reinstating them as an integral component of his art. The seemingly haphazard, collage-like structure of Gauguin's manuscripts enabled him to evoke the "primitive" culture that he celebrated, while rejecting the style of establishment critics. Gauguin's writing was also a strategy for articulating a position on the margins of both the colonial and the indigenous communities in Polynesia; he sought to protect Polynesian society from "civilization" but remained implicated in the imperialist culture that he denounced. This critical analysis of his writings significantly enriches our understanding of the complexities of artistic encounters in the French colonial context."--Publisher's description.